Tuesday afternoon saw our young Blues kick off the Under-18s Premier League Cup competition with a bright start.

Shumaira Mheuka scored twice, including a well-taken penalty, while Sol Gordon added a composed one-on-one finish to secure the 3-2 win.

Despite Stoke City scoring twice, including a goal in late stoppage time, our team dominated the match and displayed great hunger and determination.

Under-18s head coach Hassan Sulaiman was pleased with the performance, noting the real character and strength shown by the side; qualities he felt had been lacking in the opening weeks of the season.

'It was a positive outcome for us,' said Sulaiman. 'Off the back of the start we’ve had to this season, we had asked the boys to react. We wanted a result on this occasion and that's what we got, so I was pleased for the boys.

'I thought we started the better of the two sides, dominated possession, and had a few early chances which we didn’t take, unfortunately.

'There was positivity in the changing room at half time but we recognised the need to be more ruthless in our approach, to be more firm and aggressive. We also needed to be more forward-thinking in possession and trust the structure and style of play that we have worked on.'

We had two different goalscorers and other players, including first-year scholar Yahya Idrissi and schoolboy Chrizaram Ezenwata, came close to scoring throughout the game.

Despite being a youthful team, the Under-18s boss praised the impressive talent across the squad and how well the players came together to secure the win.

We eventually went 1-0 up through a Mheuka penalty on the half-hour, but we allowed them back into the game seven minutes later.

The second goal came soon after the restart, following some good play by Yahya Idrissi on the right-hand side. He delivered a great cross, standing it up at the back post for Mheuka to meet with a volley into the far bottom corner.

Our third goal was even better from a team-collective point of view. After a great move, Gordon made a run off the back of the centre-half to latch onto a great pass from Walter Nutter, who impressed as a substitute.

Gordon then took the opportunity really well, sliding it through the goalkeeper’s legs.

'These moments showed the talent and ability we have across the squad,' Sulaiman said.

'Moments throughout the game we saw a real team effort.'

The young Blues will turn our focus back to Under-18s Premier League action as we face Leicester City at Cobham Training Ground at midday on Saturday.

Sulaiman hopes the boys will build on the lessons learned from our recent victory as we aim to start a winning streak.

'We had most of the ball after that, but at times turned down opportunities to break lines and go for a fourth, which is something we’ll try to build on as we look to develop that ruthless edge,' he said.

'Unfortunately, in some aspects of the game we allowed the opposition a late consolation goal in stoppage time, which made for a nervy last few moments as the ref added nine minutes.

'However, there were no more unforced errors, and on the whole, it was the kind of positive response we’d asked for in terms of character and performance.

'We hope that this win has lifted the boys and helped them gather a bit of momentum ahead of this weekend’s game against Leicester.'