Stuck in a Moment by Stewart Taylor

Author:Stewart Taylor
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pitch Publishing
Published: 2018-05-02T04:00:00+00:00

Arsenal kids are toast of Europe

ARSENAL’S kids beat the cream of Europe over the weekend in Holland.

The young Gunners won the Ajax 80th anniversary under-20 tournament, defeating Feyenoord 6-0 in the final.

Arsenal also put paid to Ajax 4-1 in a competition that included Real Madrid, Anderlecht, Hamburg and FC Hague.

Declared coach Roger Thompson, ‘My biggest thrill in charge of the youngsters was when we finished runners-up in the Football Combination last season – but this was definitely our best tournament success against some of the best and strongest clubs in Europe.’

Ironically, Arsenal struggled to qualify with draws against AZ67 1-1 and Real Madrid 1-1. It all depended on Real Madrid’s result with AZ67 – and they got beat 2-1.

Arsenal then went on to crush Ajax and Feyenoord. ‘We seemed to get better as the competition went on,’ added Thompson.

He thought that Arsenal looked stronger at under-20 level compared with the European clubs which augured well for the future – especially as the same players could one day be competing against each other in senior competition.

Arsenal’s three strikers Raphael Meade, who hails from Hornsey Rise, Paul Vaessen and Brian McDermott were the main reason for their success. They all scored hat-tricks – and Meade ended up top scorer with five goals.

It was Paul’s only hat-trick for Arsenal.

‘Arsenal had a good crop of youngsters coming through,’ Leon reflects, ‘what with Paul, Brian, Raphael Meade, Chris Whyte, Paul Davis, Danny O’Shea and a few others.’

Islington Gazette, Friday, 15 August 1980:

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