Port Vale Put Five Past Manchester City Youngsters in EFL Trophy

Port Vale turned Tuesday’s EFL Trophy night into a bruising test for Manchester City’s youngsters, scoring five times and taking control of Northern Group D. City conceded four goals in the opening 34 minutes as Vale, next to bottom in League Two, produced the standout result of the round.

Maleace Asamoah opened the scoring, with Jaheim Headley, Max Watters, Lewis Montsma and Keyrol Figueroa also finding the net. The result left Vale top of the group on seven points, while City sat third.

“We attacked it to win the game and I’m glad we scored five goals,” Vale manager Jon Brady said. He described the fixture as competitive and said his side had approached it with a strong team.

Blackpool also came from behind to claim a 3-2 win, beating Aston Villa’s Under-21 side at Bloomfield Road. Fletcher Boyd put Villa ahead in the 29th minute, but Zac Ashworth, Jerry Yates and Jordan Brown turned the match around for the hosts. Markie Meade scored for Villa in stoppage time, but Blackpool held on.

The win placed Blackpool second in Northern Group B. Villa remained bottom without a point, a difficult return from a night when they had led but could not contain the response.

Arsenal’s youngsters supplied another comeback, recovering from a goal down to beat AFC Wimbledon 2-1. Callum Maycock gave the League One side the lead, before substitute Evan Mooney equalised five minutes after coming on. Emerson Nwaneri then scored three minutes from time to complete the turnaround.

That victory put Arsenal top of Southern Group F with six points, with Wimbledon second. It was a brighter outcome for Premier League youth sides after defeats for Villa, City and Everton.

Everton remain without a point in Northern Group E after losing 2-1 away to Shrewsbury Town. Michael Golding scored for Shrewsbury, Omari Benjamin levelled for Everton, and Jeval Thompson-McKenzie struck the winner in the second minute of added time.

Across the round, the sharpest contrast came in the group tables: Vale rose to the top after their five-goal display, while Villa and Everton were left searching for their first points.