Exeter City’s under-23 team have qualified for the group stages of this season’s Premier League Cup following a victory over Cambridge United on Tuesday.
The game, which was held at the Abbey Stadium, was the second qualifying round of the competition. The Premier League Cup is contested between under-23 teams, with each side allowed three over-age outfield players and a goalkeeper born before January 1, 1995.
City qualified for the group stage of the competition last season and the year before reached the quarter-final stage before getting knocked out to Wolverhampton Wanderers on penalties.
Following the 2-0 victory over Cambridge, City have now been placed in group D of the competition and will play under-23s sides from Aston Villa, Doncaster Rovers and Portsmouth both home and away.
Speaking about qualifying for the group stage, City’s under-23s coach Dan Green said: “We are delighted with the six-game minimum of opportunities that the players are going to get because yesterday showed us that there is a lot of work to do.
"To be fair to boys, last season, in four out of the six games, they just improved and improved and improved. They got themselves into a good position to qualify. We are going to need to improve on yesterday’s performance but it is a good opportunity and it is a competition that the manager, and the club, have a lot of respect for and see a lot of value in.”
City played well in the first half of the game, with Jayden Richardson and Josh Key providing plenty of good balls into the area from wide.
It was from one of these balls, by Richardson, that City took the lead just past the half-hour mark when Ben Seymour ran across his marker to free up space for Alex Fisher to score at the back post.
However, it was their control, in and out of possession, in the second half that frustrated coach Dan Green as Cambridge pinned Exeter City back and forced a couple of good saves out of goalkeeper Jonny Maxted.
Alex Hartridge also did well in the closing stages to head a couple of crosses clear before Seymour, who put in a tireless performance up front, curled a second goal into the back of the net with almost the final touch of the game.
Exeter City: Jonny Maxted, Jayden Richardson, Jordan Dyer, Will Dean, Alex Hartridge, Jordan Tillson, Harry Kite, Joel Randall, Alex Fisher (Theo Simpson, 76), Ben Seymour, Josh Key. Subs not used: Jack Arthur, Noah Smerdon, Louis Morison, Cheick Diabate.
- Exeter City’s home games in the Premier League Cup will be played at St James Park. The development of our young players is something the club prides itself on and the players and coaching staff would really appreciate your support at these matches. We will be releasing ticket info and fixture dates once we have them.