In the EFL Trophy game on 22 September 2026, Plymouth beat Crystal Palace U21 5:1. Match numbers: shots on target 12:3, corners 6:2.
Match report
Plymouth U21 made light work of Crystal Palace in the EFL Trophy's Group South with a 5-1 win on Tuesday night. The hosts had the better of the contest from the opening whistle and never looked back, while the visitors found themselves chasing shadows after a shaky start. We had named the home side as favourites at 54 per cent confidence, and they delivered on that assessment without fuss.
Xavier Amaechi got things underway with a goal in the eleventh minute, and Caleb Watts soon doubled the lead before twenty. The visitors tried to find their feet but could not settle, and Watts made it 3-0 in the thirty-seventh minute. Donte Martin added a fourth in the fifty-seventh, Seb Campbell the fifth in the sixty-sixth, and Aribim Pepple finished the scoring in the eighty-fourth.
Crystal Palace's only blemish came through Amari Sealey, who picked up a yellow card in the fifty-fourth minute. The visitors made several changes in an attempt to stabilise, bringing on Chuks Okoli, Caleb Kporha and Jack Mackenzie at the break. By then the game was already beyond reach.
Plymouth dominated the numbers. They held 55 per cent possession and registered 12 shots on target compared to the visitors' 3. The hosts created more attacks — 68 to 44 — and their pass accuracy hovered around 80 per cent. Crystal Palace could only manage 33 per cent shot accuracy and were second to everything, even in tackles.
The result keeps Plymouth U21 in second place with six points from three games, two wins and one defeat. Crystal Palace remain fourth but have lost all three matches, sitting on a solitary point. The hosts will make life awkward for anyone in this group now.
D22 Aug · Away Arsenal U21 · 1:1W28 Aug · Away Aston Villa U21 · 2:0W2 Sep · Home Paris Saint-Germain U21 · 2:1W15 Sep · Away Swindon Town · 2:1L19 Sep · Home Blackburn Rovers U21 · 0:1L22 Sep · Away Plymouth · 1:5
