Coming into the eighth and final league phase game of the newly formatted UEFA Europa League, Tottenham Hotspur knew it needed at least a point to secure a Top-8 spot. Facing off against IF Elfsborg - who’ve only been playing Europa games the last few weeks — Spurs secured all three points thanks to the academy products for a 3-0 victory.
Rolling out a strong first-team lineup with the likes of Micky van de Ven making his return after a two-month absence, Ange Postecoglou shifted Archie Gray to right center back, Ben Davies to left back, and Mikey Moore to right wing.
Throughout the first half, Spurs dominated the pitch as defensive recoveries from van den Ven showcased how depleted Spurs were in defense since he and Cristian Romero were inured against Chelsea. Rarely making any advances on the attack, van de Ven recovered well in many parts to keep the team on attack and let the wingers of Son Heung-min and Moore make mockeries of the Elfsborg fullbacks.
Sonny had a great shift as he continued to toy with the right back and make his way down the goal line before setting up possible balls in the middle for the six-yard box.
Shot after shot from Moore, Richarlison, and even Pape Sarr were blocked or saved, with the side having .91 XG going into the half.
With the game tied at 0-0 going into the break, Postecoglou took off Rodrigo Bentancur, van de Ven, and Son for the likes of Radu Dragusin, Dejan Kulusevski, and Yves Bissouma.
Elfsborg had its best chance 10 minutes into the second half as an errant stab at the ball from Dragusin freed up the striker and a popped-up ball for an attempt acrobatic ball that was sent over the crossbar. Not allowing the Swedish side to gain any momentum as they were hunting for a playoff spot, Lucas Bergvall had a diving header chance caught.
But with that moment of hope, Spurs were riddled again in the backline as Dragusin held his knee after a clearance attempt. After being worked on and testing it off to the side, Dragusin returned to the pitch in the 64th minute and instantly went down to signal he was done. With the growing number of injuries to the team — especially in defense — Postecoglou made the move to bring on Dane Scarlett up top, with Gray shifting to RCB, Davies LCB, and Sarr left back for the remainder of the game.
That Scarlett sub proved to be a wonder for the side as the academy product — who grew up with the side since age six — had his moment to shine as he broke the deadlock in the 70th minute with a free header from Kulusevski to the near post for a 1-0 lead.
Minutes later, another academy product in Oyindamola Ajayi came on for Richarlison to see out the game’s final 15 minutes or so.
Making a quick impact as Scarlett did, Ajayi played a one-two with Scarlett and took a touch inside the box for a bottom-right strike that rolled past the Elfsborg keeper and into the back of the net.
Letting the emotions out as he scored on his debut — with Spurs up 2-0 — Spurs saw one more academy product score as Moore took on the Elfsborg defense and took several touches on a cut from left to right before slotting his shot into the far corner for a 3-0 victory and Spurs a Top-4 spot in the knockout stages of the Europa League.
Overall, it was a great game for Spurs to secure the win and a terrific night for the academy kids who have worked their tails off to get a chance with the first team. Moore has been impressive every time he has been on the pitch as a future product, but specifically for Scarlett, he grasped the moment and hoped to take the club to the next round. What’s next for the boyhood kid? I am not sure, but for now, Scarlett and others helped Spurs over the line.