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A tough day for Troy Parrott

Troy Parrott's last two matches haven't brought the best of service for the 17-year-old Irishman.

The teenager was starved of chances on his first team debut as Spurs crashed out of the Carabao Cup with a whimper at League Two side Colchester United.

Then in his and Tottenham's second UEFA Youth League match of the season he saw very little of the ball. He had managed to score in the first group stage game at Olympiacos before struggling for service in the second half.

Parrott did manage to play a very small part in Spurs' goal, Dilan Markanday's cross taking the faintest of touches off of his head and falling to Rodel Richards to take a touch and fire home.

Other than that he was reduced to pot shots from distances amid some clever little touches and hold-up play.

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There were scouts in attendance from clubs across Europe, from Juventus to Arsenal and Hibernian.

Sitting in the crowd were Bayern legends president Uli Hoeness and executive board chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge.

The Bundesliga side have been linked with Parrott in recent weeks but there would have been little to excite the watching Germans.

That was not Parrott’s fault on this occasion on a miserable day for Spurs at their Hotspur Way training ground.

The Irish connection

It wasn't just Spurs who had their own young Irish talent in their ranks.

On the Bayern bench was 18-year-old Ryan Johansson. The teenager was born in Luxembourg and has represented both that country and Sweden at youth level.

However, his maternal grandparents are from Ireland and he made the decision last year to represent their country.

Although he was on the bench for this clash, Johansson is highly rated at Bayern and he played for the German side during the Audi Cup final against Spurs in August. Parrott was an unused substitute that day and after Tottenham won on penalties the pair reportedly swapped shirts at the final whistle.

Johansson is naturally a midfielder, who can also play at full-back, and with him and Parrott and a couple of other prospects coming through the same age groups, Ireland could have a golden generation on the way.

A lightning fast start

The rain might have been pouring down and thunder rolling across the sky, but it was Bayern who made a lightning-fast start to the game.

Both sides should be used to their fair share of rain in their countries but it was the German side who brushed it aside and caught their hosts napping, although there was a touch of misfortune about both goals.

Angelo Stiller curled a terrific free-kick against the crossbar after just four minutes and the ball bounced down, off the back of Spurs goalkeeper Joshua Oluwayemi and down on to the goal line where Joshua Zirkzee was able to tap it home.

Just seven minutes later and they doubled their lead, Lasse Gunther racing through, amid vociferous calls for offside, to curl a low shot home.

Bayern were always threatening on the break with their pace and direct running.

Character but it was not enough

Spurs have a reputation throughout the club for fighting spirit, from Pochettino's first team down through the youth academy, although the fans would probably prefer they don't fall behind in the first place.

They eventually adjusted to the conditions and found a foothold in the game.

Dilan Markanday was having joy down the right and managed to find space to chip a deep cross which got the faintest of touches of Parrott's head and fell to Rodel Richards. The Spurs attacker took a touch, beat his marker and drilled a low shot into the bottom left corner of the net.

Luis Binks then hit the crossbar in the second half with a looping header from a corner.

However, it all went wrong from then on. As Spurs pushed forward so Bayern's quality came to the fore as they kept picking them off on the break.

First Moritz Mosandl raced clear and made no mistake with a low shot after 62 minutes. Then Gunther hammered home a rocket of a shot to make it 4-1 and really tear the game away from Tottenham.

The team need to find their winning touch

Spurs have had some good runs in the UEFA Youth League in recent years and plenty of players have made their names in those runs from Oliver Skipp to Marcus Edwards.

Now they need to kick this campaign into gear. They were completely outclassed by Bayern, who were faster and possessed more quality going forward.

The group stages are still young and there are four games to go, but they don’t want to find themselves cut adrift.

It’s similar to the first team last season as Pochettino’s men gave themselves a mountain to climb and only just managed to clamber up and over it into the knockout stages.

It’s only Ryan Mason’s second ever game in charge of the team and he will be looking for better as well going forward.