Bristol Street Motors Trophy Round-Up
The latest round of group fixtures in the Bristol Street Motors Trophy provided plenty of drama as a number of teams secured their place in the Round of 32.
Northern Section:
Barrow won’t be making it through to the next stage despite securing their first win in the competition this season with a 2-1 victory over Liverpool U21 in Group A. The away side took the lead in the first half before two goals in ten minutes after the break secured a home victory, with the winner coming from defender Mazeed Ogungbo.
The top two in Group B met to see who would go through a group winners, with a crowd of nearly 8,000 at the Racecourse to see Wrexham face off against Port Vale. Josh Thomas put the League One side into the lead just after the half hour mark but the Welsh team came back in the second half to equalise through star striker Paul Mullin before James McLean nodded in a second to wrap up a 2-1 victory and the group win.
Fleetwood Town earned their place in the next round thanks to comfortable 4-0 home win against Leicester U21. Two goals in the first half from Ryan Broom was followed by further scores from Will Johnson and Ryan Graydon in the second to leave Fleetwood top of Group D, although they could be overhauled by Wigan Athletic when they play next week.
Lincoln City gave themselves a chance of progressing from Group G thanks to a 2-0 victory over Notts County thanks to goals from Jack Burroughs and Jack Vale whilst in Group H, the fight for a place in the next round will go down to the final games next week after Everton U21 grabbed a 1-0 win at Mansfield Town through a last minute penalty from Youssef Chermiti.
All four teams in the group could still qualify with one match remaining, with Doncaster Rovers currently on top after a 2-1 win at Burton Albion – Kyle Hurst hitting the winning goal.
Southern Section:
Both Forest Green Rovers and Brighton U21s will progress from Group A after the two teams fought out a goalless draw at The New Lawn, with Brighton securing a bonus point when they won the penalty shootout 4-2.
Crawley Town secured top spot in Group B as they knocked out Aston Villa U21 thanks to a 3-2 victory. Jack Roles and Kamarai Simon-Swyer put the home side 2-0 up early on before Villa brought the game level through goals from Kobei Moore and Rico Richards. Roles however then scored his second to put the League Two side through.
AFC Wimbledon moved through to the next stage with a game to spare after a double from Josh Davison earned a 2-0 win against Crystal Palace U21s in Group C, whilst in Group D, Cambridge United bowed out despite an emphatic 4-1 win against Tottenham U21s, with Kai Yearn, Saikou Janneh, Jack Lankester and Lewis Simper all on the scoresheet.
Group E came to an end, with Portmouth FC topping the standings after a 2-1 win away at Leyton Orient. Despite Sean Raggett being sent off, goals from Christian Saydee and Abu Kamara secured the win, with Joseph Pigott having netted for the home side. Fulham U21 join them in the knock out stages, with Aaron Bradley Loupalo-Bi hitting the winner in a 1-0 win against Gillingham.
Josh Murphy scored twice, with Sonny Perkins, Jordan Thorniley and Mark Harris also netting for Oxford United in an emphatic 5-0 win against Chelsea U21 in Group F that secured a place in the next round. That came despite the home side losing manager Liam Manning to Bristol City earlier in the day, with Oxford also fielded the youngest player in club history as Leo Snowden made his debut.
West Ham U21 meanwhile progressed from Group H with a 4-0 win against Cheltenham thanks to goals from Oliver Scarles, Divin Mubama, George Earthy and Callum Marshall.