Kids Played Stars Watched in Tottenham Europa League Win

Going into the match between Tottenham Hotspur and Wolfsberger AC in Europa League, we knew Spurs had a big advantage already. Likewise, we knew Tottenham was bringing several young academy players to the game. The real question was if any of those academy starlets would get on the field and if so how much. Ultimately, the Tottenham senior squad did not disappoint and we got to see three academy players make an appearance for the club.

Tottenham Tots Played Talisman Did Not

We know there was two ways this match could have gone and a lot was dependent on who scored first. Thanks to the sensational play of Dele Alli, Wolfsberger never got any bright ideas and Tottenham cruised to victory, particularly in the second half.

When the line-up dropped folks were happy to see Dele, but Bale was on the bench, along with a couple of the big dogs in Harry Kane and Heung-Min Son. Pierre Højbjerg was not in the list, but Kane and Son were with the hope – dare I say the prayer – that neither would be called into action. In fact resting the stars and playing some kids was part of our Do’s and Don’ts heading into the match.

A Carlos Vinicius header shortly after the interval and then Gareth Bale producing an impact moment as a substitute meant that the game was in hand for the last 15 or so minutes. Instead of bringing on Kane and Son, José Mourinho could do what we all wanted and bring on some of the academy.

Youth was served for Spurs Wednesday

With Harvey White, Troy Parrott, and Oliver Skipp all out on loan getting some seasoning we got to really see some of the depth in the academy with several youngsters coming out. Marcel Lavinier got the longest runout of the group as the 20-year-old defender came on immediately following Spurs third goal for Matt Doherty.

Doherty had a yellow card so taking him off made sense and despite having Japhet Tanganga sitting there likely wanting to play, Mourinho went with Lavinier who was signed last summer after not being offered a professional contract by Chelsea.

Lavinier did okay in his 16 minutes plus injury time. The young defender won a couple tackles and one header. Marcel also took a pretty big shot going to win a ball in the air, but the spry young defender jumped right back to his feet. With more touches than minutes played Lavinier was not afraid to get on the ball, which is a big deal for a young defender.

Dane Scarlett delivered in another cameo

It is probably getting way, way ahead of ourselves to being wanting even more minutes for the other academy players, as the other two players to get minuets Nile John (17) and Dane Scarlett (16) cannot even vote.

It was the first appearance for John who has been at the club for more than 10 years having joined at the young age of 7. Hopefully this is not a once and done for the young outside midfielder. As for Dane Scarlett, each time he takes the pitch you get more excited. Whether it is hearing about 5 goals in an under-18 match – again just 16 – or seeing him run for one minute in the Premier League, you cannot help but get excited about him. Even Mourinho has a hard time not getting a little giddy regarding Scarlett.

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On Wednesday, Scarlett used his drive to apply some pressure and nick the ball away from a Wolfsberger defender in the box. Unfortunately for young Scarlett this touch only brought him an assist as an alert Carlos Vinicius stepped in and slashed home his second for the fourth and final goal. Scarlett certainly continues to look a real footballer and is one to keep an eye on moving forward