A last friendly before the Academy season got underway and Tim Sherwood took a young side to Hampton & Richmond, looking to continue the good pre-season they have had against some higher level opposition.

This time it was Blue Square (South) level and a more physical test than perhaps the Orient and Ipswich games had been and also a different style of play, with a more direct attack, as opposed to the passing style they had come up against at Portman Road.

Calum Butcher was quickly called into action to stop Simmonds making progress after a long ball cut out our defence, but in the ninth minute, the home side went into the lead with a well worked effort.  Allen-Page knocked a ball to the far post, where Collier played a volley back into the centre of the box and Simmonds was on hand to fire past Alnwick to make it 1-0 to H&R.

Spurs almost hit back with a shot from Ryan Mason, which just went wide after Andros Townsend pulled a left wing cross back for him.  There was also a chance for Dean Parrett, who was played in for a shot by Obika's pull back, but the drive went wide in the 31st minute.

Tottenham were holding the ball well and had most of the possession, but were finding it hard to break down a resolute Hampton & Richmond defence, which sometimes included seven players back behind the ball.  The same continued in the second half, when Adam Smith made a good run down the right wing from full back and his cross picked out Laste Dombaxe, but he missed the goal with his effort.

There was one nervy moment for Spurs, when Tarpy broke away on the right wing and hit a shot at goal from a narrow angle, which Alnwick had covered, but the H&R man's pace exposed the Tottenham defence.  Nathan Byrne and Harry Kane came on for Tom Carroll and Dombaxe, to add some strength to defence and some height to the attack.  The changes almost paid off straight away, with Mason bringing a low diving save out of Lovett, as his shot was heading into the bottom corner of his goal.

Three more Spurs substitutions were made in the 68th minute and this time, they did the trick with Ryan Mason putting a cross to Kudos Oyenuga at the far post and his shot was finger-tipped onto the post by goalkeeper Lovett, but Kane was on hand to net the rebound with a rising shot to equalise.

In the last 15 minutes, Tottenham pressed for the winner and Adam Smith went close when he shot Townsend's cross wide of the mark and the full back was involved in another chance, when he lobbed a ball into the box and Jake Livermore's clever dummy confounded the keeper, who was left grasping at thin air and only the intervention of Wells prevented Tottenham getting a second goal.  Two Butcher headers slipped across goal, before Smith played the ball into Mason's path and his last minute shot went inches over the bar to leave the scores level and the teams both pleased with their outing on a night when greater things promised in the months ahead.

marco van hip

Lovett

Allen-Page
Tanner
Wells
Inman

Stevens
Collier
Simmonds (Groves 46)
Matthews (Boateng 81)

Tarpey  (Gibbs 68)
Moone (Lucien  68)

Unused Subs :
Ahmed
Witham
Robinson
Talbot

Alnwick

A. Smith
Blackwood (Durojaiye  68) 
C. Butcher
Carroll (Byrne 58)

Mason
Dombaxe (Kane  58)
Livermore
Parrett  (Nicholson  68)

Obika  (Oyenuga  68)

Townsend

Unused Subs :
13   Ranieri