Williams-Barnett stars as Under-17s lift Premier League Cup

Luca Williams-Barnett lit up the Under-17 Premier League Cup final with a sparkling hat-trick as Stuart Lewis' young charges lifted the trophy for the second time in three years on Friday night.

The young attacker bagged two first-half goals before stylishly rounding Charlton Athletic goalkeeper Finley Woodham to complete his treble shortly before the hour mark on a memorable, energy-sapping night at Stevenage.

We still needed subsequent goals from Harry Byrne and substitute Reiss Elliott-Parris to see off a plucky Addicks side who kept coming back at us, a brace from our former Academy player Manu Wales keeping them very much in the contest until we pulled away in the latter stages.

The visitors also hit the woodwork and went close a couple of times in the second period, but we managed the closing stages well to keep them at bay and reclaim the trophy we won in 2023 as part of our double-winning season at youth team level.

It was all-action from the off in what was technically a 'home' final for us, just two-and-a-half minutes on the clock when Williams-Barnett latched onto Byrne's ball down the left and worked his way into a shooting position before firing home from a tight angle. Ellis Lehane almost bagged a second from a similar area moments later but saw his deflected effort cleared off the line by Dionte Davis.

Charlton weathered our early storm and moments after Blake Irow dived at the feet of Emmanuel Sol-Loza to just about win the ball in the box, they levelled on 19 minutes when Reuben Reid set up Wales to drill low into the bottom corner from the edge of the area.

Williams-Barnett's quality proved decisive, though, as we regained the lead on 36 minutes, our number 10 instinctively steering Tynan Thompson's cut-back from the left inside the near post to give us back control of the contest. Ronny Moncur went close for us shortly afterwards while Tate Elliott missed a glorious back-post chance for Charlton as Bradley Tagoe's wide free-kick caused problems for Irow and the same player proved a continued threat early in the second half, testing Irow at his near post before going close with an angled shot from the opposite side.

George Feeney couldn't hit the target with a glancing header for us but Charlton kept pushing and Reid hit the post from distance before Jun'ai Byfield came up with a brilliant block in a congested box to prevent the visitors from drawing level.

A key moment arrived on 57 minutes, though, as Williams-Barnett pounced on a loose pass in Charlton's defence to go clean through on goal and after sitting keeper Woodham down with some dazzling footwork, he gleefully rolled the ball into the empty net to complete his hat-trick.

Back came Charlton once again, Jack Belton teeing up Wales to fire home from 20 yards three minutes later after we failed to clear our lines from a cross, but when Byrne curled a superb low free-kick around the wall and into the bottom corner from 20 yards after a foul on Williams-Barnett mid-way through the second half, you sensed the trophy was ours.

We stayed on the front foot in a bid to kill the game completely, Williams-Barnett's rasping shot from distance saved by Woodham while Lehane's effort from the left angle in the box was diverted wide by the keeper after a good pass from Dexter Oliver just seconds after his introduction.

Oliver was there again with a decisive pass to set up goal number five 10 minutes from time, playing in fellow substitute Elliott-Parris who got away from his marker in the box before lashing inside the near post from an acute angle and racing off to produce an acrobatic Robbie Keane-inspired celebration!

Lehane had another attempt blocked in the box but the Addicks refused to relent and had near-misses through Shia-Lee Burnham, Reid and Phoenix Valentine in the closing stages. Nevertheless, we stayed alert and saw out the game, before captain Byfield hoisted the trophy into the night sky against a spectacular backdrop of pyrotechnics before a large crowd at the Lamex Stadium.

Reaction on SPURSPLAY

'There were some outstanding moments'

Coach Stuart couldn't hide his delight at full-time, telling SPURSPLAY: "I’m just so pleased for the staff, for the players, for the Academy as a whole and also the Club. It’s brilliant to win this trophy again – it was a great performance with some outstanding goals and a really exciting evening on show. There’s obviously still room for improvement as we know because these are young people and young players, but there were some outstanding moments and the goals that we scored, we’ve done that throughout the season in this competition and also within the Under-18s. To win it again, there’s no better feeling!"

Match data

Goals: Spurs - Williams-Barnett 3, 36, 57, Byrne 66, Elliott-Parris 80; Charlton Athletic - Wales 19, 60.

Yellow cards: Spurs - Thompson 31, Beggs 90, Byfield 90; Charlton Athletic - Amoah 48.

Referee: Luke Scott.

Venue: Lamex Stadium, Stevenage.

Weather: Sunny, light winds, 17 degrees.

Attendance: 1,242.