Ange Postecoglou saluted fantastic Mikey Moore, after the teenager struck a late winner in Tottenham s J-League World Challenge clash with Vissel Kobe.
The 16-year-old was the hero with his 88th-minute strike sealing a 3-2 victory at the Japan National Stadium in what was Spurs first match in their preseason tour of the Far East.
Academy graduate Moore became Tottenham s youngest Premier League player when, aged 16 years and 277 days, he made his senior debut against Manchester City in the penultimate game of last season.
And Postecoglou insists the England youth international, who has scored 10 goals in 12 appearances at under-17 level, is deserving of his first-team opportunities.
Mikey has been fantastic since we brought him in, he told reporters during his post-match press conference. He s earned his spot on the roster at the moment; he did at the end of last year.
He got a run with the first team because we could see in training that he was handling himself really well, and that s followed through into pre-season training.
He s been good in all the games; he probably should have had three tonight, but he did take his goal well by being in the right areas.
All we can do is keep allowing him to develop. We have to remember that, last year, he had some injuries, and he is only 16.
I think the future with a lot of our young guys looks pretty promising, but it s our responsibility to make sure they realise their potential and continue to work hard at their game.
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial)
Spurs made it three wins from three during preseason, following their 5-1 and 2-0 victories over Hearts and Queens Park Rangers respectively.
I thought it was a good game, Postecoglou added. The conditions did make it difficult for both teams, and we ve had a hard week of training.
Credit to the boys. I thought we played some decent football, and they put in as much effort as they humanly could out there.
You want to provide some sort of entertainment for the supporters who made a great turnout tonight, not just Spurs supporters, but football supporters in general. It s always nice to give back in that way and, overall, I was pleased.
