Teenage Tottenham Hotspur striker Ryan Loft stepped up to Under-21 level and continued his fine recent run of goalscoring by finding the net in front of the TV cameras on Thursday night.
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Loft, who celebrated his 18th birthday last month, earned his chance to play in Thursday’s game, which was broadcast live on BT Sport, by scoring a three goals for Tottenham’s Under-18 side in a 3-0 win over Norwich at their Norfolk training ground on Saturday.
Five days after his hat-trick, Loft returned to East Anglia to once again hurt the Canaries – this time at Carrow Road.
Loft, who scored 13 times in the Barclays Under-18 Premier League last season, was fairly quiet for most of the game.
However, he demonstrated his ruthless finishing on 65 minutes when he fired Spurs into a 2-1 lead, after being played in by Filip Lesniak. That was Loft’s final touch, before he was subbed off.
If he continues to get on the scoresheet with the sort of regularity that he has recently, Loft could soon be given a chance to shine in Tottenham’s senior side, especially considering that Harry Kane – a homegrown hero himself – is currently the only traditional striker that head coach Mauricio Pochettino has in his squad.
Loft’s goal, which you have probably already seen in the video above, came after Norwich defender Cameron Norman had cancelled out Keanan Bennetts’ early opener.
Norwich scored their second equaliser of the night on 76 minutes when Jamie Eaton-Collins slid home from close range.
Spurs are the leading scorers in Barclays U21 Premier League Division 1, so it was no surprise when they went ahead for the third and final time on the night moments later, thanks to this fine 81st-minute effort from Anton Walkes.
Tottenham remain fourth in the table, one point behind Reading and Southampton, and three below leaders Sunderland.
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