Newcastle and Palace progress in EFL Trophy

What the report says

Newcastle United and Crystal Palace’s under-21 teams moved into the knockout rounds of the Jersey Mike’s Trophy after winning tight away matches against League Two opposition, according to BBC Sport Football. Newcastle beat Rotherham United 1-0 in Northern Group C, with Kyran Thompson scoring the only goal in the first half. That result knocked Rotherham out and left Newcastle set to advance alongside Bradford City.

Crystal Palace also progressed after a 2-1 victory at Newport County in Southern Group E. David Angibeaud scored the decisive goal for Palace, who are now guaranteed to go through with Plymouth Argyle. The BBC report says both sides secured qualification with narrow wins, underlining the value of the competition for Premier League academies playing against senior lower-league teams.

Elsewhere, Brighton & Hove Albion Under-21s were eliminated after a heavy 6-0 defeat at Cambridge United in Southern Group G. Cambridge were helped by an early red card for Brighton over-age player Ben Barclay, and they scored six times to confirm top spot in the group. In another Tuesday fixture, Doncaster Rovers won 4-1 at Rochdale in Northern Group H, a result that ended both Rochdale’s and Liverpool Under-21’s hopes of finishing above third in the group.