Charlton Athletic U18 1 v Tottenham Hotspur U18 0

Charlton progressed to the 6th Round of the F A Youth Cup this evening in front of 1371 appreciative supporters. From the start when the players from both sides shook hands, one thing struck me, and that was how much bigger our side were than theirs. In my experience, it's our youth teams who are invariably over-shadowed by the opposition.


I questioned the appointment of Paul Hart during the close season because I was surprised we were prepared to pay for a youth team manager of his stature and because I suspected his  ambitions in joining us. This evening I have to say he has proven my immediate cynicism wrong . Not only has he hung around but the fruit of his employment was there for all to see. We dominated play for the first 75 minutes of the game. 


Adebayo Azeez has filled out since I last saw him play and he was a handful down the right flank all evening and was quick to provide an aerial threat when the ball came in from the left. Tobi Sho-Silva (great name) provided a balanced threat and aerial presence on the left and with Joe Pigott's height in the middle, it was no surprise than the majority of our chances came from headers. Pigott probably had the best shot in the opening minute when he chested a ball on for himself before firing in from a tight angle only to see Granger thwart him at the near post.


Harry Gerard was busy in the middle and has the strut and early flair of his Liverpool namesake. Tareiq Holmes pulled his weight in the midfield with Diego Poyet who came into the match as it went on.  At the back, Dillon Phillips had little to do until the closing fifteen minutes but he commanded his area and was well-protected by Cousins, Fox, and the big boys, Ajayi and Lennon.


As the game wore on, Spurs began to show and their noisy mob of 200 die-hards got increasingly cocky with their incessant (and annoying) singing. The pint-sized Jack Munns ("sorry son you're too small to make it") began to find his way past our defenders and pick out white shirts. Phillips made two good saves before Munns struck the corner of bar and post with a fine drive. Spurs then won successive free-kicks, one of which saw substitute Callum Harriott booked. Munns measured both out like a rugby kicker and flashed both a good yard clear of the bar.


With four minutes of added time, Charlton finally made a break of our own and I think it was Sho-Silva who was brought down 20 yards from goal. Up stepped substitute Oliver Muldoon and he curled a beauty over the wall and wide of the despairing Granger. Johnnie Jackson would have approved. The home crowd roared it's acknowledgement as the players enthusiastic celebrations reminded us that this game meant far more to them that it did us. 


A good evening at the Valley for a fiver - can't help thinking we didn't do enough to advertise this one (I only spotted it today whilst walking past the club shop).