Youthful Spurs win at Ferencvaros in Europe League

Tottenham made it two victories from two Europa League games as their youthful side edged past Ferencvaros in Hungary.

Ange Postecoglou included four teenagers in his starting line-up – winger Mikey Moore, 17, midfielder Lucas Bergvall, 18, defender Archie Gray, 18, and 19-year-old striker Will Lankshear, who was making his senior debut.

Goals from Pape Sarr, 22, and Brennan Johnson, 23, gave them the win, with the teenagers playing key roles.

"I thought Mikey was outstanding," said Postecoglou. "It’s brilliant for a 17-year-old to play 90-plus minutes in a European away tie. He handled it superbly. I kind of knew he would and it’ll help his growth as a footballer.

"If you look at the Premier League, how many 17-year-olds are actually contributing and Mikey is already, which shows he’s got something special - but we’ve got to be really careful how we develop that."

On the other youngsters, Postecoglou was also pleased with how they performed and added: "They’re part of our first-team squad, not because I want young players, it's because they've earned that spot. We can't discount the fact Archie is 18, Lucas is 18.

"Archie was brilliant. We asked him to play in two different positions and it's incredible how he adjusts. Lucas worked hard and Will was unlucky with a couple of moments when we could have got a goal.

“These guys are there because they've earned their spot, but they're an important part of our development."

Six points out of six for Spurs

Moore was heavily involved in Tottenham’s first goal with a bright run from the right touchline before the loose ball fell to Sarr who scored with a low effort from inside the six-yard box.

The goal came after the hosts thought they had taken the lead as Barnabas Varga headed into the net, but was judged narrowly offside.

Ferencvaros ended strongly but Kady Borges and Cebrail Makreckis wasted good opportunities to equalise.

Spurs substitute Johnson, who had earlier shot against the crossbar, doubled the visitors' lead, collecting the ball from Moore and shooting low, with the ball bouncing in off the post for his fifth goal in five games.

Varga finished off a left-wing cross to pull one back for the hosts in the 90th minute, but it was not enough to deny Postecoglou's side the victory.

Tottenham now have six points from six after they began their campaign with a 3-0 home win over Qarabag of Azerbaijan.

Postecoglou's line-up gamble pays off

Mikey Moore impressed on his first senior start for Tottenham

Spurs, eighth in the Premier League, made seven changes to the side that won 3-0 at Manchester United on Sunday, with Postecoglou handing Moore a first start after five substitute appearances, while Lankshear was involved in a senior match for the first time.

Lankshear nearly made a dream start when he threw himself at Timo Werner’s cross, but he misjudged the diving header attempt with the ball bouncing off his shoulder and over the crossbar.

Moore was also making an impression and his jinking run led to Tottenham’s first goal, with home defender Stefan Gartenmann losing track of the loose ball which enabled Sarr to score his second goal of 2024-25 after netting Spurs’ second in the win over Qarabag.

In a match played in relentless Budapest rain, Ferencvaros, top of the Hungarian league with six wins from six, had a great chance to equalise, but Guglielmo Vicario did superbly to get his fingertips to a curling effort from Matheus Saldanha.

Lankshear had two further opportunities, but a volley bounced down into the ground and then over, before he was denied by Gartenmann’s sliding challenge when about to shoot.

Werner also missed a glorious opportunity when clean through from Moore’s pass, but the German’s first touch was poor and forced him wide with him only able to hit the side netting.

With 25 minutes left, Postecoglou added more experience to his team with Johnson, Dejan Kulusevski and James Maddison coming on to replace Bergvall, Werner and Lankshear.

Striker Dominic Solanke, called up for England for the first time in seven years on Thursday, was another late substitute.

Johnson looked to have put the game beyond the home side following more good work from Gray and Moore, before Varga’s volley on the stretch set up a nervous finish for the visitors.

Tottenham will be looking to continue their winning start in the competition in three weeks when they host Dutch club AZ Alkmaar on 24 October.

Source: BBC