TOTTENHAM U18 2 MK DONS U18 6

MK Dons under-18s romped to victory over Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday, in what Mike Dove called one of the best performances he has seen in his time at the club.

Striker Sam Baldock and midfielder Liam Kelly both bagged hat-tricks against Alex Inglethorpe's Spurs side in an incredibly eventful game in North London.

A strike in the opening minute of a four-goal first half, a match-turning penalty save and four goals in the final half-hour were reflective of a fantastic game played with genuine quality at a frightning tempo.

Spurs took the lead within the first minute of the game, scrambling a ball just over the line from a corner despite the Dons' best efforts to clear it. But within six minutes, the Dons were level after a superb pass from Ollie Thorne.

The Dons centre-half clipped a lovely ball into the channel for Baldock to chase and when the young Dons striker was fouled, he dusted himself off to put away the spot kick.

Attackers certainly seemed on top in the opening stages, that was until James Nash just point-blankly refused to be passed down the Dons left showed excellent awareness to relieve the pressure on his defence and win a goal kick.

There was a new determination about the Dons' defending and when Adam Kent thumped headers away from successive set-pieces, Spurs knew they would do well to get another.

But they did just that on 33 minutes when Thorne looked to have been held in defence, only for his appeals to fall on deaf ears. Spurs took full advantage, flying down the left to cross for Dave Hutton to score with a free header.

But there was plenty of fight left in the Dons and within minutes, they were level again as Kent played in Baldock to fire the equaliser.

The second half did not start well for Mike Dove's team and they conceded a penalty within two minutes of the restart. With the home side breaking down the right, Adam Moriarty's slip led to him handling inside the area and a spot kick was awarded.

But Laurie Walker stood tall in the Dons goal and made a fantastic save that not only kept the scores level, but lifted the Dons to a new dimension. The passing was slick, the movement was constant and Kelly gave them the lead with a stunning third.

Carrying the ball forward from halfway, the Dons winger twisted this way and that before unleashing an unstoppable shot from the edge of the box to make it 3-2.

Baldock slotted number four to complete his treble and the Dons were rampant.. The two goalscorers combined on 77 minutes for Kelly to make it five and Baldock nearly made it six but smacked a shot off the bar with five minutes to go.

Kelly though, saved the best for last when he broke onto Kent's pinpoint lofted pass between the centre-half and full-back to hit a rising shot over the 'keeper and complete the rout.

"The 4-3 win over Arsenal last season was good," Mike said, "but in terms of a performance right through the team, I haven't seen much better than Saturday. The way we kept possession, the confidence that was shown right the way through the team, it all seemed to go well and all our chances went in!

"It's only their fourth win of the season but it just shows what these boys are capable of when they get it right.

"Spurs postponed the fixture earlier in the season because they had players away on international duty and couldn't get a team together so to have beaten them is a big achievement.

"Every single player involved deserves credit, some of the football we played was just superb."

"There is a buzz about them now, and with next year's under-18 players watching on the bench, the current second years deserve a lot of credit for playing like they did."

Dons: Walker, Mitchell-Coop, Kent, Thorne, Nash (c), Williams, Moriarty, Shuter, Kelly, Koffi Baldock.
Subs not used: Powell, King, Delderfield, Fox.