Alonso: I feel really proud of the team
A jubilant Javier Alonso celebrated Crystal Palace Under-18s’ hard-fought 1-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur at Hotspur Way on Wednesday, booking a place in the U18 Premier League Cup final against Manchester United.
The first half was tight, with few clear-cut chances. Palace survived early scares thanks to crucial blocks from Dylan Monk and Euan Danaher, while Spurs’ Reiss Elliott-Parris remained a constant threat.
Gradually, Palace grew into the game, with dangerous deliveries from Jasper Judd and Dean Benamar turning the screw. The breakthrough came in the 80th minute when Judd’s inswinging corner found David Angibeaud, whose towering header put Palace ahead.
Tottenham pressed hard in the closing minutes, but resolute defending ensured the young Eagles held on for a well-earned 1-0 victory.
Alonso reflected on reaching the final: “I feel really proud about the team. I think we play as a team. We go through to the final and I'm really happy for the boys.
"I think they deserve it because they are training every day so well. I think they deserve it because the performance was good. I'm really happy for everyone, yes.”
It was a frustrating first half for Palace, with the majority of play in their own half and limited opportunities created. Fortunately, Lucca Benetton between the sticks wasn’t seriously tested despite Tottenham’s territorial dominance.
Alonso assessed the first 45 minutes: “The first half was not the best. We gave a lot of time with the ball to the opponent and I think we improved when we changed a little bit. Some movements, some players, I think we improved with that.
"I think the team was better with different movements, with different positions, pressing a little bit more, keeping the ball a little bit more. Yes, I think Spurs were better in the first half. We were better in the second half.
"The game was so close. We had chances, they had chances. We punished the set pieces. One nil, clean sheet, go through, I'm really happy.”
On Palace’s much-improved second-half performance, he added: “In the second half, my feeling was that we were creating chances, that the game was more for us. We were playing better than them, in my opinion.
“We had set pieces, played wide, created opportunities, and we punished the moments. One nil, clean sheet, go through – really happy.”