Reading FC have selected a matchday squad made up entirely of academy players for their decisive Jersey Mike's Trophy group stage fixture against Bristol Rovers. The young side must win by a margin of four goals without conceding at the Memorial Stadium to secure a place in the next round.
Stevens starts in goal behind a defence of Sackey, Osho, Beacroft and Jones, with Beacroft captaining the side. The midfield trio is Cliff, Mfuamba and Howard, supporting forwards Duah, Ahmed and Patton. The substitutes bench includes Rowley, Barough, Harrison, St Louis, Lonmeni, Dashi and Ntege.
Trophy Stakes
Bristol Rovers have already qualified from the group, leaving Reading needing a specific result. The club currently have five points and a goal difference of plus one. A victory by four goals, combined with a clean sheet, would see them leapfrog their opponents on the head-to-head rule. This follows a 2-2 draw with Wycombe Wanderers earlier in the group, which Reading won 3-1 on penalties, and a 2-0 defeat to Chelsea's under-21 side.
The fixture comes just days after the first teams of Reading and Bristol Rovers played out a dramatic 2-2 draw in League One. That result kept Reading in sixth place in the table with 22 points from 14 matches, a record of six wins, four draws and four losses. The team's recent form in the league is two wins, two draws and one loss from their last five games, a sequence that includes the 2-2 draw with Bristol Rovers on Tuesday 10 November and a 5-0 victory over Peterborough on Saturday 7 November. This season, Reading have scored 25 goals and conceded 15, giving them a goal difference of plus ten. They remain seven points behind the league leaders, Huddersfield. Their next league assignment is a tough trip to face second-placed Stockport County on Saturday, 14 November. The focus for this evening, however, is squarely on the academy's ability to deliver a historic result and extend the club's EFL Trophy campaign.
The report in full is at Yahoo
