U’S SHINE AS EFL SIDES DENY YOUNG GUNS...
EFL sides took the bulk of the honours against their academy rivals as the Checkatrade Trophy kicked off in earnest on Tuesday night.
While there had been a few group stage matches played in August, there were a whopping 22 ties in midweek.
EFL sides met invited U21 sides from the top two divisions in seven of them. There were two wins for both, though the EFL clubs won the other three ties on penalty shoots-outs after their games finished level at 90 minutes. It earned them an extra point.
Oxford United, beaten finalists in 2016 and 2017, kicked off their new bid for glory with a convincing 3-0 victory against tenman Fulham U21s.
Sam Smith, Ricky Holmes and 16-year-old sub Slavi Spasov, who scored from the penalty spot on his debut, bagged the goals, while Fulham had keeper Toni Stahl sent off when they were 1-0 down for handling outside his area.
Luton also beat academy opposition, edging out
Brighton U21s 2-1 courtesy of goals from Aaron Jarvis and Jorge Grant.
Sunderland beat Stoke U21s 4-2 on penalties after a 0-0 draw, Scunthorpe edged out Wolves U21s by an identical score and Crawley Town pipped Tottenham U21s 5-3 in a shoot-out after a 1-1 draw.
Shayon Harrison had given Spurs the lead, but home debutant Bondz N’Gala levelled to take the tie to spot-kicks. Tough
Academy sides found it tough going in last season’s competition, though Chelsea U21s did reach the semi-finals.
There was some success for them in midweek as Newcastle U21s won 3-1 at Doncaster and Southampton U21s won 2-0 at Colchester. Elsewhere, holders Lincoln slipped to a 2-1 home defeat against Mansfield to make a shaky start to the defence of their crown. Matt Rhead gave the Imps an early lead, but the Stags hit back through Callum Butcher and sub Tyler Walker.
Harry Kewell’s first game in the Notts County hotseat ended in disappointment as the Magpies fell to a 2-1 defeat at Grimsby. Lewis A les sandra gave Notts an early lead, but the Mariners replied through Mitch Rose (pen) and sub Jake Hessenthaler, the latter in the 88th minute. There were
plenty of goals on an action-packed night. Crewe triumphed 4-3 at EFL new-boys Tranmere, while fellow newcomers
Macclesfield won 5-3 on penalties after a 3-3 home draw against Blackpool.
MK Dons beat Peterborough 6-5 on pens after a 3-3 draw. Triumph Portsmouth demolished visitors Gillingham 4-0, while Forest Green beat Cheltenham by the same score.
There was a little bit of history as Rochdale beat
Bury 2-1. At just 15 years and 336 days, defender Luke Matheson became Dale’s youngest ever player when he came on as a 13th minute substitute – and he went on to earn the man-of-the-match award!
“Luke’s been training with the first team whilst he’s not been at school during the summer and
I’m really pleased for him that he got his chance,” said Rochdale boss Keith Hill. “He was outstanding.” AFC Wimbledon took the derby honours with a 4-2 shoot-out success at Charlton after a 2-2 draw. Carlisle beat Morecambe 3-2, Walsall won
2-1 at Burton and Barnsley triumphed by the same score at Oldham in further games in the Northern Section. In the Southern Section, Southend saw off Cambridge United 3-1, Exeter edged out hosts Yeovil 4-3 on penalties after a 0-0 draw and Wycombe won 1-0 at Northampton.
Teams pick up £10,000 for a group stage win and £5,000 for a draw. Invited teams need to field at least six U21 players in their starting XI. The top two teams in each of the 16 groups of four qualify for the knockout stages.