Saints Under-19s boss Stewart Henderson was delighted with his team's performance in the 1-1 draw against Chelsea at Staplewood on Saturday.

"We had a youngish side out that was effectively under 18, and I was pleased with what they did," he said.

"We deserved to win, especially on our second half performance. We always dominated, got in good positions and created good chances but didn't always take them."

Saints were the better side in a competitive game, creating several clear openings, but nearly lost tafter Mbark Boussofa gave Chelsea the lead in the 85th minute against the run of play.

However a spirited recovery from Saints saw Jay Lucas equalise with a fine strike from 20 yards in the last minute.

Henderson praised his side's reaction to going behind, admitting: "I was pleased with the fightback, pleased they had a go.

"I would have been disappointed for them if they hadn't got something out of the game. It would have been an injustice if we'd lost.

"Everybody worked very hard. Jamie Gleeson played very well in midfield. He did a lot of good things, put in a lot of effort and made simple good use of the ball. Alongside him, Richard Jones played very well too.

"The young centre backs also looked solid. Gareth Williams did well when called upon, but their keeper had to make many more saves."

Saints Under-17s remain top of their Premier Academy table after a thrilling 4-2 victory at West Ham.

Assistant manager Jeremy Charles enthused: "It was overall a very good performance. We attacked well and defended well.

"We played our usual passing game and were very attractive to watch."

Saints went into the break 2-0 up thanks to strikes from Martin Crainey, following a corner, and Ben Stimson.

After the break West Ham pulled the game back to 2-2 with a fine curling effort and a tap in after Michael Poke's penalty save.

Saints emerged victorious, though, with Gavin McCullen's header and Matt Christensen's fine individual effort.

Charles refused to single out individuals for praise, insisting: "It was a great team performance against a West Ham side which included two England schoolboy internationals.

"It's always a great feeling to win away from home."