Newcastle United’s under-21 side begin their Leasing.com EFL Trophy campaign tonight, with a tough away trip to League Two side Macclesfield Town.
Macclesfield are currently seventh in League Two, having taken 10 points from a possible 18 to start the season.
Newcastle faced the same opponents last season, having successfully qualified from the group stage, with United winning in a penalty shootout at St James’ Park.
The competition is for the Premier League and Championship sides’ under-21 teams, as opposed to the under-23s who play in the PL2 league season.
That under-23 side has struggled under new coach Neil Redfearn’s guidance, although they did bounce back to win their first game of the season at Fulham on Friday.
Two-goal hero in that win, Tom Allan, will be hoping to play from the start in tonight’s Trophy side, and he told the Newcastle United official website he hopes they can emulate last season’s run, but acknowledged with a younger side this season, it will be a difficult task.
He said: “It’s a very important game. This year, we have a much younger team than we did at the start of last season. We done really well in the competition last year and the lads can take a lot from that and do the same this time round.
“The competition is really good for us as you get to play against senior teams at different grounds. It gives you a taste if you want to go out on loan and what it will be like. For a lot of the lads, especially the younger ones coming up, it might be a bit of a shock but last year, we adapted to it and managed to do very well. Hopefully, we’ll be looking to do the same.”
Winning group would be good achievement for young side
It is asking a lot for the youngsters to reach the last 16 of the competition again this season, but qualifying from the group stage, particularly with the relative lack of experience this year, would represent a fantastic achievement.
Redfearn will hope his players get a lift from the victory against Fulham, and will be looking to get off to a flying start with a win in their opening game tonight.
Kick-off for the Northern Group D game is at 7.45pm, and tickets are £10 for adults, £5 for senior citizens and under-25s, with under-18s priced at just £2.
Live radio commentary is also available on BBC Radio Newcastle, as well as on the NUFC.co.uk website.
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