Ferencvaros 1 Tottenham 2: Spurs kids prove their worth as Sarr and Johnson maintain perfect Europa League start
TOTTENHAM got their teenage kicks in Budapest – with 17-year-old sensation Mikey Moore the star of the show.
Ange Postecoglou opted to start FOUR teenagers including 19-year-old debutant Will Lankshear, 18-year-old pair Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall, as well as Moore.
It was the latter starlet who shone brightest on what was his first start, playing a key role in Pape Matar Sarr’s opener.
Sub Brennan Johnson added to it late on and though the hosts grabbed a late one back through Barnabas Varga, Spurs held on for three points.
James Maddison had branded Moore’s potential as “scary” on Wednesday.
The youngster certainly showed no fear here and summed up why many in N17 feel he is the most exciting player to come out of Tottenham’s academy since Harry Kane.
His display helped deliver only Spurs’ second away win in their last ten European games.
And it meant Dominic Solanke was only needed for nine minutes as a late sub on the day he was recalled to the England squad.
Ferencvaros’ Dutch boss Pascal Jansen was born in London and used to follow Spurs because they played in white.
Both teams were playing in green here though, as Spurs had been turned down by Uefa in their request to play in their blue second strip due to it clashing with the hosts’ green-and-white stripes.
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In truth it seemed the right call as Spurs’ emerald shirts were visibly different.
What was crystal clear from the off was what a talent young Moore is.
The forward, who only turned 17 in August, wore his socks low a la Jack Grealish and like so many youngsters seem to these days.
He backed up the bold look with a confident performance, always wanting the ball and causing problems with his nimble dribbles in-field.
One particular dangerous delivery across the six-yard area deserved better but no team-mate was there to tap it home.
His good pal Lankshear probably should have put Spurs ahead inside 12 minutes when rising to a superb Timo Werner cross, but the 19-year-old fired over with a combination of his head and shoulder.
It was an entertaining game, as all Spurs matches in the Postecoglou tend to be.
But this being the Aussie’s open Tottenham, there were plenty of chances for the opposition too and Ferencvaros had the ball in the net on 16 minutes.
Varga, the Hungarian striker who suffered a sickening collision against Scotland at the Euros, headed home but it was ruled offside.
Guglielmo Vicario had to be at his very best to deny Varga moments later, though it would likely not have counted again due to an offside.
A clever flick from Lankshear set Moore away down the right shortly afterwards, and the teen sensation was then clattered into by Eldar Civic who was booked.
Spurs grabbed the lead midway through the first half and again Moore and Lankshear were involved.
The former ran infield and clipped a ball through to his striker pal.
Ferencvaros should have dealt with it but somehow the ball fell loose in their area, allowing a gleeful Sarr to fire home his second goal in as many Europa League games.
Ben Davies, the wise old head among the kids, came close to hooking home a Cristian Romero header soon after, before Porro struck a post with his weaker left foot.
Ferencvaros have an issue with fans letting off flares at matches and it happened here at half-time, with the game having to be halted briefly at one point for the smoke to clear.
Vicario kept his laser focus though as he pushed away Matheus Saldanha’s goal-bound effort.
Moore was not the only teenager impressing, as Gray, signed for £40million from Leeds in the summer, caught the eye with his calmness under pressure.
At one point the 18-year-old was being backed into the far corner with no options – apart from the clever backheel flick he successfully pulled off.
Lankshear was inches away from a debut goal when volleying Porro’s corner into the ground and just over.
Fans will be wondering if Werner will ever score again as he wasted yet another golden opportunity when Moore played him in, but after rounding the keeper, the luckless German fired into the side-netting.
It would prove to be his last action as Postecoglou made a triple sub yet kept Moore on, summing up the whizkid’s impact.
A brilliant flick from one of the subs, Dejan Kulusevski, set Gray away to tee up Johnson but the man who cannot miss at the moment struck the crossbar.
The Wales star showed he had not lost his midas touch though as with a few minutes remaining, he fired in off the post for his fifth goal in as many games.
It looked like game over but Varga’s fine near-post volley on the stretch added some late drama, which Postecoglou’s young side managed to see off.