Tottenham 1-2 Chelsea: Kazaiah Sterling hands Spurs late hope in FA Youth Cup

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Tom Doyle15 March 2017

Kazaiah Sterling handed Tottenham hope with a late goal as Chelsea won the first leg of their FA Youth Cup semi-final 2-1 at White Hart Lane on Tuesday night.

Reece James and Ike Ugbo put Chelsea's Under-18 side in control of the tie with two first-half goals, but Sterling struck late on to open up the tie between the London rivals as Luke McCormick also missed a late penalty for the visitors.

Chelsea - deployed in a similar 3-4-3 formation to Antonio Conte's senior system - started the stronger of the two teams, and centre-back James headed the Blues in front after 34 minutes as he guided a looping effort over Spurs keeper Brandon Austin via a corner.

The visitors were two goals to the good just five minutes after James' opener with another header, this time courtesy of Ugbo.

Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty I

The striker gave Austin no chance with a fierce header, and Chelsea - looking to win the competition for a fourth consecutive season - saw out the win despite a late goal from Sterling.

The young striker - who is already training alongside Harry Kane in the first team and has been tipped for success in north London - finished clinically with two minutes left on the clock to hand Spurs hope of a second-leg comeback.

Chelsea had a chance to extend their two-goal advantage from the penalty spot in injury time, but McCormick saw his spot-kick hit the post 94 minutes in to leave the tie open ahead of Saturday's return leg.

The Blues, meanwhile, will hope the result is a sign of things to come, with the senior squad facing Chelsea in the FA Cup semi-final on the weekend of April 22,

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