The Checktrade Trophy is proud to give young players a taste of first team football by pitting the youth and skills of the Football League's best academies against the experience and talent of League One and Two sides.
Newport County AFC will be joining this tradition with a select few academy players getting a chance to shine alongside first team stars at this evening’s game. With three matches in six days likely to take its toll on the squad, Manager Michael Flynn is handing out Matchday Squad places to U18s players Evan Press, Owen Taylor, Lewis Collins and Tom Hillman who’ve recently shone in Academy matches.
This comes after 16-year-old Jay Foulston made his full debut in our previous Checkatrade Trophy match vs Swansea U23s and 18-year-old Modou Tourday has been proving himself on loan at Merthyr Town.
The Club has a good record for producing young players with two of last season’s Merit League winning side moving on to Clubs in higher leagues. Previous academy success stories also include Regan Poole’s move to Manchester United and Aaron Collins move to Wolves. Former Exile Lee Evans (also at Wolves) is currently impressing on his loan spell with Wigan Athletic and has earned himself a call up to the Wales Squad for the upcoming friendlies.
Academy Manager Byron Anthony said of this evening's game: “It is a fantastic opportunity for the academy players involved in the first team squad tonight. The development of these players is really important for the Football Club. The manager is keen to give the academy players a chance when the time is right.”
Can't make the match? You can follow the action from this evening's game on Twitter or listen live at the Match Centre.