Jonnie Gurie’s brace helped to get Islington Under-11s’ campaign back on track as they came from behind to hand neighbours Haringey a 5-1 hammering in the Lester Finch Trophy.

Having suffered a heavy defeat to Wandsworth in their opening game of the tournament, Islington made a shaky start on Saturday at Hurst Avenue and conceded with only a minute on the clock.

Although they initially struggled to string passes together, the home side soon found their rhythm and equalised in the sixth minute when Stephane Mgbada tucked a scrappy half-chance into the Haringey net.

Islington began to move the ball better and they grabbed the lead midway through the first half when Huseyin Yildiz, from his position wide on the left, displayed real quality to loft the ball into the far corner of the net.

Gurie put his side 3-1 up before half-time, driving past two defenders and finishing with confidence after his twin brother Joseph – despite being under pressure in his own half – had created the chance.

Islington continued to dominate after the break, but were unable to convert any of the chances they created until Jonnie Gurie added his second of the game six minutes from time.

The Haringey defence failed to deal with a free-kick from Tyreese Piper-Burt and Gurie fired in the loose ball from close range to seal the points.

However, there was still time for Han Wilhoft-King to add a fifth goal for Islington, shielding the ball from the defence before unleashing his finish low into the bottom corner.

“Once we started to move the ball earlier and with more precision, we played some very good football,” said Islington manager Michael MacNeill. “The team passing and movement for the third goal was great to watch.

“This was one of our better performances against a physically strong and quick Haringey team but our ability to pass, retain and move the ball was the deciding factor with some accomplished finishing.”

Islington’s next test in the competition comes this Saturday, when they face Barking & Dagenham at the same venue (kick-off 10.30am).

Islington squad: Valtanen (Marshall) Linden, Piper-Burt, Joseph Gurie, Yildiz (Richards) Vargas, Jonnie Gurie, Willhoft-King, Mgbada.