Nottingham Forest were defeated by Tottenham Hotspur last night in the Under-17 Premier League Cup Final., with Zach Abbott in fine form. The Reds had two men sent off during the contest and that pretty much handed Spurs the initiative during an entertaining clash.
Forest actually took the lead during the game which was played at the City Ground. The in-form Danny Anisjko scored after 12 minutes with an unstoppable effort but that was about as good as it got for the Reds.
Tottenham equalised just two minutes later. Then, in the 36th minute, Kyle McAdam was sent off for making two bookable offences in a matter of moments which pretty much ended the game as a contest.
Spurs took the lead in the 41st minute and from there they never looked back. The game finished in a 5-1 win for the North London-based outfit, with Conor Brown sent off seven minutes after half-time.
It was a decent night for Abbot though. The game was showcased live across Forest’s subscription channels and he didn’t disappoint during an otherwise upsetting night for the youngsters.
At 16-years-old, the teenager has a really bright future. He shows maturity beyond his years at centre-back and he’s actually made his senior debut already; featuring for four minutes of the Carabao Cup game against Grimsby in August.
Abbott plays out from the back nicely and is tough in the tackle. For a young player, he has wonderful positional sense and he’s showing the type of character that could see him star in the future.
Abbott in fine form for Forest youngsters
It says it all that despite his tender years, the player has already made the step up to play more frequently for the under-21s. He’s made just four appearances for the under-18s this season, playing 12 times for the under-21s in their Premier League 2 campaign.
If Forest return to the Championship, perhaps there is an opening for him. It might be too soon for him to be starting games but if the Reds are forced into selling some of their stars, maybe he will be promoted as a backup option.
Abbott is developing nicely as a player. He will only continue to get better in the years to come and perhaps Forest are about to unearth a seriously talented gem with the centre-back.
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