WHAT HAPPENED
We swept past Villarreal in our opening match of the Premier League International Cup after an impressive performance at Meadow Park.
We started strongly and took the lead inside seven minutes when Jose Carceles parried Trae Coyle’s effort into the air and Nathan Tormey reacted quickly to head into an empty net.
Coyle came close 10 minutes later when he collected the ball, skipped a challenge and drove into the box, but saw his low shot saved by Carceles.
Villarreal came close to scoring an equaliser on the stroke of half time when Ivan Martinez Nunez collected a mistimed clearance from Dinos Mavropanos, before seeing his curling effort crash against the post.
We doubled our advantage shortly after the interval when Emile Smith Rowe turned neatly to create space, played a pass to Tormey who turned his marker, before laying the ball back to our midfielder who fired past Carceles.
Nunez was at the heart of the visitors’ attacking play and rode a challenge before seeing his goal bound strike blocked by Mavropanos on the edge of the box.
Coyle put the game to bed in the 77th minute when a header across the box found him at the back post, and he took a touch before slotting underneath Carceles.
WHAT IT MEANS
WHAT’S NEXT
Steve Bould’s youngsters next face Blackburn Rovers in the Premier League 2 on Friday, December 6 at 7pm (UK time)
By Sam Cox
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