Former St Mary’s loanee Yago Falque scored twice as table-topping Spurs beat Saints at White Hart Lane in the Under-21 Premier League.

Early chances fell to visiting striker Sam Hoskins in the opening 15 minutes, but the rapid forward couldn’t find the net.

Ben Reeves’ free-kick on 21 minutes was dealt with well by the Tottenham defence, before a quick counter-attack saw Dean Parrett slot a perfectly weighted ball into Falque, who finished nicely past Chris Jones in goal.

Just three minutes later, the home side found themselves two-up. The impressive Tom Carroll crossed a well-flighted ball into the box, which Jonathan Obika headed past Jones.

It looked set to be an uphill task for Saints, but the visitors managed to look more comfortable on the ball, with skipper Reeves particularly impressive in possession.

However, the hosts added to their tally a minute into first-half stoppage time, as Obika turned provider for Falque, with the 22-year-old bending a fantastic curling shot that hit the top of the far post before nestling into the net.

With a three-goal cushion, Spurs were happy to keep possession after the interval as Saints began to tire.

Chances were few and far between in the second period, but it was the visitors who had the first after 63 minutes. Joe Curtis stole the ball from a Spurs defender before showing neat footwork to get a shot off, but Lawrence Vigouroux did well to save the effort.

Reeves then played Sam Hoskins through on goal, but his shot was saved by the leg of Vigouroux.

The three-goal cushion seemed a little flattering for the hosts considering chances were being consistently produced by the men in red.

With just over ten minutes remaining Curtis played an accurate ball out wide to the pacey Jake Sinclair, who returned the pass with a deep cross to the feet of Curtis, but his resulting shot was palmed wide for a corner.

Spurs then added insult to injury with a fourth, saving the best until last. Substitute Souleymane Coulibaly picked up the ball on the left-hand side and struck an ambitious shot which nestled into the top right corner.

Reeves nearly grabbed a consolation when he wormed his way through a number of Spurs defenders before hitting a right-footed shot that looked to be going into the top corner, but Vigouroux was at full stretch to keep his clean sheet.

Tottenham Hotspur: Lawrence Vigouroux, Ryan Fredericks, Kevin Stewart, Massimo Luongo (C), Grant Hall, Tom Carroll, Yago Falque, Ryan Mason, Jonathan Obika, Dean Parrett, Cristian Ceballos.

Saints: Chris Jones, Danny Butterfield, Matt Targett, Joe Curtis, Bevis Mugabe, Jordan Turnball, Jake Sinclair, Corby Moore, Sam Hoskins, Ben Reeves (C), Lloyd Isgrove.

By Josh Harris, at White Hart Lane