Tottenham v South Coast strikers (Milk Cup 2012 Preview)
By Logan Holmes
Tottenham play South Coast Strikers from USA at Scroggy Road, Limavady in their second match in the Northern Milk Cup youth tournament. Both sides will be looking for an improved result from their opening games on Saturday. Spurs drew 1 – 1 in Portadown against Co. Armagh while Strikers lost 0 – 2 to Cherry Orchard from Dublin. Spurs and Strikers would have been hoping to be in the top four positions after the first three matches so as they would be competing for the Milk Cup proper on Wednesday and Thursday, especially after finishing fifth and sixth respectively, last year.
Spurs and Strikers met twice last year in the Milk Cup in two very close matches. Strikers came out on top in the first match with a 2 – 1 success, scoring a late winner after Spurs had equalised their early strike. They then met again in the play-off for 5th and 6th place in the Milk Cup Globe Final, and after ending level at 1 – 1, Spurs took the trophy on penalties.
Spurs v Co. Armagh
Tottenham had the perfect start on Saturday, going ahead after three minutes through Nathan Oduwa. They were comfortable through much of the game but missed chances to increase their lead. Midway through the second half, a bad defensive error gave Armagh an equalier and a minute later Oduwa had a penalty saved. Spurs will need to be much more clinical in front of goal and show more regard for defending if they are to win against Strikers FC.
South Coast Strikers v Cherry Orchard
Spurs defeated Cherry Orchard in a very close match last year in the 5th – 8th play-off, winning 4 – 3 after taking a comfortable lead but Cherry Orchard fought back to make in a tightly contested match. Cherry Orchard are regular participants in the Milk Cup so they are well prepared each year and had a good win over Strikers on Saturday at Castlerock.
From the South Coast Strikers website:
The Premier team played at Castlerock (Carraig Ceasail,named for the fortress-like rock outcrops on the shore). Castlerock is only eight miles from our home base at Coleraine. It is situated just half a mile from where the River Bann meets the sea – The Bar Mouth. Castlerock lies west of Potrush along the North Coast and is a small but beautiful coastal town with a relaxed atmosphere and a fine golden sandy beach. The population is 1,336.
The Premier Team had “one of those games” today, or more precisely “one of those halves”. In the first half, it was difficult for us to push up as a team. Our opponents, Cherry Orchard, are one of the top clubs in Ireland, and they played very well today. In the first half, we allowed them too much space to operate, and they took full advantage to go up 2-0 at the half. It was a half where things just did not go our way.
The second half belonged to the Strikers. The lads began the second half with a sense of urgency and played hard. The boys pushed forward continuously as a team, playing aggressive and fast football. We controlled the run of play in the second half. We had the advantage in territory and possession, and took seven very good shots on goal. The boys never gave up or backed down, fighting hard to the end. But, despite our comeback, it was not meant to be our day.
The boys, as always, exhibited good sportsmanship despite the loss, and we should all be proud of them. They learned a lot today and are looking forward to the next match, at 7 pm on Monday against the famous Tottenham Hotspur Club, at Scroggy Road in Limavady.
Tottenham are currently in 9th position with one point. The opening matches in the Premier Section threw up some unexpected results with Manchester United losing as well. The top four teams after the opening three matches will play-off for the Milk Cup so Spurs will need to win both of their remaining matches to have any chance of progressing to that top play-of section for 1st to 4th. Seven teams have maximum points, the local County Tyrone team who defeated United 2 – 0, CSKA Moscow, Newcastle United, Bolton Wanderers, Desportivo Brazil, Revo Express and Cherry Orchard. Tottenham’s next opponents, Otago from New Zealand, lost 0 – 4 to Bolton in their opening match.
The revised squad for Tottenham is:
1. Liam Priestly (g/k), 2. Kane Vincent-Young, 3. Connor Ogilvie, 4 Kodi Lyons-Foster, 5. Jon Magbadelo 6. Anton Walkes , 7. Channing Campbell-Young, 8. Joe Pritchard, 9. Cy Goddard, 10. Luke Amos, 11. William Miller, 12. Harry Winks, 13. Harry Voss (g/k), 14. Shayon Harrison, 15. Nathan Oduwa, 16. Amon Walter-Owens, 17, Anthony Georgiou, 18. Emmanuel Sonupe
Spurs can expect a difficult match against South Coast Strikers who obviously played well against Cherry Orchard after a slow start and will be looking to make amends against Tottenham tonight.