Chelsea win at Spurs in Youth Cup semi-final first leg

Chelsea won 2-1 at Tottenham in the first leg of the FA Youth Cup semi-final.

The holders scored twice in the space of four first-half minutes at White Hart Lane, with goals from Reece James and Ike Ugbo putting them in a commanding position.

But Kazaiah Sterling’s late goal and Luke McCormick’s injury-time penalty miss left Spurs with a fighting chance ahead of Saturday’s second leg at Stamford Bridge.

James opened the scoring with a looping header after a bright start by Chelsea in which Mason Mount rattled the Tottenham post with a free-kick.

Ugbo struck six minutes before half-time, doubling his team’s lead with a header from Dujon Sterling’s cross.

Keeper Brandon Austin kept the north London side in the tie, twice saving from both Mount and Ugbo and also denying James and Callum Hudson-Odoi.

After Sterling netted three minutes from the end, McCormick had a chance to restore Chelsea’s two-goal lead following a foul on Harvey St Clair, but he fired his spot-kick against the post.