ybr - Player L_Benjamin is listed twice in the teamsheet
yle - Player J_Redmond is listed twice in the teamsheet
yth - Player K_Ferguson is listed twice in the teamsheet
Tottenham Hotspur U23 0-1 Wolverhampton Wanderers U23
Like the seniors we had been on a poor run of late with only two wins in the previous eight games in all comps and only one league win in five. So getting the points against a side low down the table was always going to be critical here.
In truth we dominated the game but their GK had a blinder which stopped us winning comfortably. Jordan Allan popped up with the only goal in the first half and, whilst we couldn't get another, the result felt never in doubt.
A timely win with a surprise Liverpool defeat seeing us jump to 3rd and now only three behind Bournemouth. We are eight points clear of sixth placed Everton so a top five finish seems right in our grasp. Most importantly, given our aim for this season was to avoid relegation, we are 16 clear of the bottom three with 21 points to play for. Hopefully that means we are pretty much safe.
Whatever happens the goal is to keep winning games and finish as high as possible. This result helps us.
Aston Villa U23s 1-0 Bournemouth U23s
Unfortunately the Bournemouth manager wasn't able to make this one which gave us the tactical advantage and we took that after just seven minutes when Rory Wilson bagged the opener. We have decided to delay his promotion to the first team so hopefully he will be banging them in for us for a little while yet. We were in complete control until Harry Souttar got himself sent off 25 mins in and we had to switch to a more defensive formation. Still we controlled the game and their GK was the one who stopped that score getting any higher.
As it is this is a massive win against our nearest rivals and one that puts one hand on the trophy with us now 11 points clear with 21 to play for and a GD 20 better than Bournemouth. Three more wins from the seven remaining games should see us lift the title. This one guaranteed us a top five finish and means we will finish above the Champions which is a nice one to tick off.
This was also our 11th league win in a row - that means we have now picked up maximum points from a consecutive half season of football having played every side. That's quite a run and one for the boys to be proud of. It was also revenge for our only defeat of the season so far - a 1-0 reversal at Bournemouth.
In a bitersweet moment we now have the coming week off as we went out of the cup to the Cherries on pens. We get a nice rest to prepare for the trip to Everton but it would have been nice to be fighting on all fronts. Still, we can recharge batteries and prepare for a big week with two league games sandwiching the league cup second leg. If results went our way that game in round 17 could be our first chance to clinch the title - not likely but you never know!
