WANDERERS Under-18s lost a third successive Premier League Elite Group match at the weekend when they went down 2-0 at Southampton.

David Lee and Tony Kelly’s charges started the game well and Saints stopper Will Britt made two excellent saves to keep a clean sheet.

A Sam Gallagher header after half an hour put Jason Dodd’s home side in front before Bevis Mugabi doubled their advantage early in the second period as the young Whites faded.

And while it was hardly the perfect preparation for their big FA Youth Cup fifth round tie at Tottenham on Friday night, Lee believes it is a good learning experience for the young players.

He said: “We created several good chances in the first half but did not have the clinical edge in front of goal. We had the better of the first half, though we did concede from a corner.

“Southampton didn’t threaten us from open play.

“The second half wasn’t our best performance, with players not at their best and we conceded three minutes after the restart.

“This was a good learning curve for the players, as they need to be at their best in every game.”

The squad now face a tough week on the training ground in readiness for the trip to White Hart Lane to face a Spurs side that thumped West Ham in the last round of the FA Youth Cup.

But the performances in beating Portsmouth and Reading away in the previous two rounds has shown the U18s have the ability to go to London and do well.