It was the biggest game of Marine’s players’ lives when they hosted Tottenham Hotspur in the FA Cup on Sunday, but it was a huge day for one of the Spurs stars too.
Tottenham were 4-0 up at half-time in what was a comfortable game against a team 161 places lower ranked than them on the football ladder, so Jose Mourinho inevitably made a couple of substitutes.
Alfie Devine came on to replace Moussa Sissoko, and in doing so became Tottenham’s youngest ever player at 16 years and 163 days old. And then he remarkably capped off his big day by getting on the scoresheet too for the final goal of the game.
It only took 15 minutes on his debut for Devine to latch onto the ball in the area, cut inside onto his right foot and fire low inside the near post.
It is believed Devine joined Spurs for around £300,000 back in July, from the financially-struggling Wigan Athletic.
He reached the quarter-finals of the FA Youth Cup last season with Wigan, starring in a 2-0 win against Spurs along the way.
Devine also spent his early career as part of Liverpool’s academy, and is capped by England at Under-16 level.
Since joining Spurs, he played seven games with the Under-18 squad, before moving up to play four games at Premier League 2 level.
He was also given some playing time in a friendly against Ipswich Town shortly after his arrival.
Mourinho gave opportunities to a number of players against their non-league opponents on Sunday, with many hoping to prove themselves and force their way into the manager’s plans.
Vinicius netted a first-half hat-trick while Lucas Moura also got on the scoresheet in the 5-0 win, and Dele Alli pulled the strings in midfield after being mostly shunned since Mourinho’s arrival.
(Daily Mail)
