'Give him an inch and he'll bury you': former Arsenal man salutes Tottenham Hotspur starlet after quality shines for Portsmouth

The Tottenham Hotspur loanee delivered more evidence of his talent with an excellent goal in the 1-1 Papa John’s Trophy draw at Broadfield Stadium.

Scarlett dismissed the attentions of experienced defender Tony Craig in the 81st minute, before burying a ferocious 20-yard drive in unerring fashion.

The 18-year-old went on to miss a spot-kick as Crawley earned a bonus point after the 2-2 draw, but that didn’t detract from how he pepped up his side after his 62nd-minute introduction.

Betsy, who arrived at Crawley from Arsenal under-23s in June, was full of praise for how his side restricted Pompey - but acknowledged Scarlett is going right to the top.

He told Crawley’s YouTube channel: ‘A League One side didn’t really open us up first half.

‘We had squad pegs in round holes with loads of injuries everyone knows about.

‘They didn’t really create many opportunities even in the second half.

‘The goal was against the run of play. It was never a corner.

‘Then the second goal was a moment of quality from a top player.

‘That boy is going to play for Tottenham, no doubt about it.

‘I’ve worked with him before with England and know his quality.

‘If you give him an inch around the box he will bury you - and he took his chance.’

Betsy felt his team more than punched their weight with Pompey and could’ve been in a better lead than a one-goal advantage at the break.

The former England age-group coach felt Crawley’s display against experienced opposition deserved praise.

He added: ‘It was a really enjoyable evening and it was a fantastic performance from the players.

‘The first half was excellent and we should have been 2-0 up at the break.

‘There was energy, enthusiasm and quality in possession and our out-of-possession shape was first class.

‘Up front Pigott started.

‘There’s some really experienced players.

‘Reeco Hackett is a really experienced player and a talented boy.

‘The midfielders were experienced. Jacobs - how many games has he played?

‘Look at the comparisons of the team and the line-up.

‘We had a load of kids playing for us, so let’s be fair to the selection.

‘I’m so proud of some of the young players who came in - some with their first starts for Crawley.

‘They showed real levels of composure. I’m delighted with the group.’