A young Spurs XI did the business at Kingsmeadow on a chilly July evening against Kingstonian FC.
There was a surprisingly strong turnout of supporters, all in great spirits, presumably itching to let the long summer football drought come to an end. And of course to check out the sexy new Under Armour kits. The general consensus – we approve.
Was great to see a highly vocal and impassioned Tim Sherwood in the dug out motivating the players, accompanied by Les Ferdinand and Chris Ramsey.
Throughout the game Sherwood could be seen enthusiastically jumping up from the bench every 30 seconds, shouting out to the young players.
After a delayed kick off due to the amount of supporters still trying to get into the ground (genuinely… my God we missed this), the first half was fairly uneventful, with the players on both sides looking a little rusty. Still, had to be said that the Spurs lads maintained strong possession and looked good on the ball – most notably Pritchard, who impressed up front.
The second half was livelier, with a great goal from Mason early into the second half, followed by a tidy goal from Barthram, who came on for Ceballos after half time. The Ks pulled one back with a penalty which was put away by Archer, and had a chance at an equaliser in the closing ten minutes of the match.
In summary, a solid first away day of the season for me - itching for the next already. A convincing win by Spurs, despite being down to 9 men by the end of the match due to injuries and having used all of our substitutions, playing very pleasing football. Lovely atmosphere (considering the team and opposition) and a very enjoyable friendly, despite Kingstonian’s fairly pushy slogan on the walls – “Get a life – follow the Ks”. In addition, the chips were decent with a vast array of available condiments and the pints were cheap. Smiles all around.
Kingstonian (4-4-2)
Tolfrey (Bragg, 75); Goode, Hutchinson, Murphy (Kamara, 44), Sterling; Pattison (Holloway, 46), Sankoh (Clayton, 46), Murray, Lodge; Mullen (Tait, 46), Small (McCollin, 46).
Spurs XI (4-2-3-1)
Miles (Archer, 46); Byrne, Hall (Ekong, 68), Veljkovic, Stewart; Bentaleb, Gomelt; Pritchard (Barthram, 58), Mason, Ceballos (Munns, 58); Bostock.
Goals:
Kingstonian - McCollin (penalty 84)
Spurs - Mason (50) Barthram (69)