On Wednesday 18th our Oxford United Advanced Football Programme Male Under 19s showed heart, grit and determination as they secured a brilliant 2-1 victory against Tottenham Hotspur FC in their first match of the season!
Wednesday’s match was our 2024 cohort’s first opportunity to show what they are made of, and with an amazing performance from start to finish, the team certainly chose a brilliant way to kick off the season.
After a composed opening 15 minutes, Ciaran Dolton-Murphey, Captain, slotted in the first goal, taking his team to the lead. Tottenham equalised before the break, but our team held strong, maintaining control through the second half before Louie Mullord stepped up with a decisive finish to secure the 2-1 win for our U19s.
Reflecting on the match, Ciaran, Captain, shared just how well he thought his team had done, and what they’ve got up their sleeve the rest of their season:
“I thought we played brilliantly for our first game of the season, and for our first competitive game with each other; especially as we have only played with each other for one training session, and we were coming up against a strong team like Spurs who have had a six-week preseason to get to know each other and work on their patterns of play. I thought we dealt with their attacks well and nullified the threat, limiting Spurs to long balls which often went out of play and gave us back possession.
The goal from Lewis secured the win, and we made some great tactical changes throughout the game such as moving John Paul from centre mid to centre back. He was unbelievable. He was all over the pitch, recovering balls, and relieving pressure off our back line.
As we train together more and get to know one another we will form relationships across the pitch which will help us pick up more points and hopefully secure the title at the end of the season.
Everyone in the team is buzzing for the next game. We’re hoping to get more of the ball and implement more of an attack style. We’re all footballers at the end of the day, so every time we step on the pitch, we all want to win the game, and hopefully we’ll win the title at the end!”
Congratulations to our brilliant team on securing their first win and putting in a brilliant performance in Wednesday’s match.
If you would like to find out more about the opportunities available to you through our Oxford United Advanced Football Programme, open to both male and female students. Click here to find out more.
