2013–14 Under-21 Premier League Cup

2013–14 Barclays Under-21 Premier League Cup
Tournament details
Country	England; Wales
Teams	52
Final positions
Champions	Reading (1st Title)
Runners-up	Manchester City
Tournament statistics
Matches played	52
Goals scored	179 (3.44 per match)
Top goal scorer(s)	Craig Tanner Reading (9 goals)

The 2013-14 Under-21 Premier League Cup (known as the Barclays Under-21 Premier League Cup for sponsorship reasons) was the first edition of the U21 Premier League Cup.^[1]

Fifty two teams entered the competition – with sixteen Category 3 EPPP teams entered in the 1st Qualifying Round, seventeen Category 2 teams entered in the 2nd Qualifying Round, and the remaining nineteen Category 1 teams entered in the Round of 32. Teams were allowed to field up to four over-age players in matches – three outfield and one goalkeeper.

Participants

Category 1

North	South
Blackburn Rovers	Arsenal
Bolton Wanderers	Aston Villa
Everton	Chelsea
Leicester City	Fulham
Manchester City	Norwich City
Middlesbrough	Reading
Newcastle United	Southampton
Stoke City	West Ham United
Sunderland
West Bromwich Albion
Wolverhampton Wanderers

Category 2

North	South
Barnsley	Brighton & Hove Albion
Birmingham City	Bristol City
Coventry City	Cardiff City
Crewe Alexandra	Crystal Palace
Derby County	Millwall
Huddersfield Town	Queens Park Rangers
Leeds United	Swansea City
Nottingham Forest
Sheffield United
Sheffield Wednesday

Category 3

North	South
Burnley	AFC Wimbledon
Doncaster Rovers	Bournemouth
Hull City	Bristol Rovers
Notts County	Colchester United
Preston North End	Exeter City
Wigan Athletic	Gillingham
	Peterborough United
	Plymouth Argyle
	Torquay United
	Watford

Matches

First qualifying round

This round commences the week beginning 23 September 2013. Only the sixteen Category 3 rated academies competed in this round.^[2]^[3]

Northern Section

Date	Home team	Score	Away team	Attendance
8 Oct	Burnley	0–0	Wigan Athletic	581
Burnley advance 7 – 6 on penalties.
23 Sep	Preston North End	0–2	Hull City	216
24 Sep	Doncaster Rovers	0–3	Notts County

Southern Section

Date	Home team	Score	Away team	Attendance
24 Sep	AFC Bournemouth	1–2	Plymouth Argyle	146
26 Sep	Peterborough United	3–2	Colchester United
1 Oct	AFC Wimbledon	2–0	Gillingham
3 Oct	Watford	1–1	Bristol Rovers	230^[4]
Watford advance 4 – 3 on penalties.
30 Sep	Exeter City	4–1	Torquay United	470

Second qualifying round

This round commenced the week beginning 21 October 2013. The eight First Qualifying Round winners were joined in this round by sixteen of the seventeen Category 2 rated academies – Nottingham Forest drew a bye to the Round of 32.

Northern Section

Date	Home team	Score	Away team
30 Oct	Crewe Alexandra	1–2	Burnley
23 Oct	Derby County	1–2	Hull City
23 Oct	Coventry City	1–2	Notts County
28 Oct	Sheffield United	2–3	Birmingham City
29 Oct	Barnsley	4–3†	Leeds United
30 Oct	Huddersfield Town	1–2	Sheffield Wednesday

Southern Section

Date	Home team	Score	Away team	Attendance
5 Nov	Queens Park Rangers	4–3	AFC Wimbledon
30 Oct	Plymouth Argyle	0–2	Watford	332^[5]
29 Oct	Swansea City	1–1	Millwall
Swansea City advance 4 – 2 on penalties.
29 Oct	Crystal Palace	2–3	Exeter City	273
29 Oct	Brighton & Hove Albion	3–4†	Cardiff City
14 Nov	Bristol City	1–0†	Peterborough United

† – After extra time

Round of 32

This round begins the week beginning 18 November 2013. The nineteen Category 1 sides were joined in this round by the twelve Second Qualifying round winners and Nottingham Forest, who drew a bye to this round.^[6] Birmingham City withdrew from the competition after fielding an ineligible player. Newcastle United progressed to the Round of 16 instead.^[7]

Northern Section

Date	Home team	Score	Away team	Attendance
18 Nov	Middlesbrough	2–3	Everton	327
20 Nov	Notts County	1–2	Wolverhampton Wanderers	141
19 Nov	Blackburn Rovers	3–1	Hull City	136
21 Nov	Stoke City	0–2†	Manchester City
19 Nov	Bolton Wanderers	4–2	Barnsley
18 Nov	West Bromwich Albion	2–1†	Nottingham Forest	190
26 Nov	Burnley	2–1	Sunderland	347
19 Nov	Leicester City	4–1	Sheffield Wednesday
26 Nov	Birmingham City	1–2	Newcastle United

Southern Section

Date	Home team	Score	Away team	Attendance
26 Nov	Aston Villa	0–3	Fulham	190^[8]
26 Nov	Reading	3–1	Queens Park Rangers
6 Dec	Cardiff City	0–4	Chelsea	882
20 Nov	Exeter City	2–0	Southampton	447
26 Nov	Swansea City	0–0	Watford
Watford advance 4 – 3 on penalties.
2 Dec	Bristol City	1–2	West Ham United
19 Nov	Norwich City	0–1	Arsenal

† – After extra time.

Round of 16

This round commenced the week beginning 16 December 2013. The sixteen Round of 32 winners entered this round.^[9]

Date	Home team	Score	Away team	Attendance
6 Jan	Chelsea	2–1	West Ham United
7 Jan	Exeter City	2–1	Blackburn Rovers	630
30 Dec	Newcastle United	2–1	Leicester City	385
20 Dec	Everton	2–3	Wolverhampton Wanderers

Date	Home team	Score	Away team	Attendance
31 Jan	Reading	6–1	Watford	BCD^[10]
23 Dec	Burnley	3–0	Bolton Wanderers	251
9 Jan	Fulham	0–1	Arsenal	351^[11]
22 Dec	Manchester City	2–0	West Bromwich Albion

Quarter-finals

This round commenced the week beginning 27 January 2014. The eight Round of 16 winners entered this round.^[12]

Date	Home team	Score	Away team	Attendance
27 Jan	Chelsea	0–1†	Arsenal	1,237
20 Feb	Wolverhampton Wanderers	1–3	Reading	133

Date	Home team	Score	Away team	Attendance
21 Feb	Newcastle United	2–3	Manchester City	BCD
4 Mar	Exeter City	2–3†	Burnley	1,207

† – After extra time.

Semi-finals

This round commenced the week beginning 24 February 2014. The four Quarter-final winners entered this round.

Date	Home team	Score	Away team	Attendance
15 Mar	Arsenal	1–3†	Reading

Date	Home team	Score	Away team	Attendance
1 Apr	Manchester City	3–2	Burnley	424^[13]

Final

First leg

10 April 2014

19:00 BST

Manchester City	3–2	Reading
Devante Cole 39', 90' Marcos Lopes 65' (pen.)	Report	Gozie Ugwu 13' Craig Tanner 31'

Etihad Stadium

Attendance: 4,873

Referee: Lee Mason

Manchester City

Reading

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Manchester City
No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
1	GK	IRL	Ian Lawlor
2	DF	ENG	Adam Drury
3	DF	ENG	Greg Leigh 70'
4	DF	ENG	Shay Facey
5	DF	BEL	Jason Denayer
6	MF	ENG	George Glendon 54'
7	MF	AUT	Sinan Bytyqi
8	MF	FRA	Olivier Ntcham
9	FW	ENG	Jordy Hiwula
10	FW	POR	Marcos Lopes
11	FW	ENG	Devante Cole
Sub	DF	ENG	Ellis Plummer
Sub	GK	WAL	Billy O'Brien
Sub	DF	BEL	Mathias Bossaerts
Sub	DF	ESP	Angeliño 70'
Sub	MF	FRA	Seko Fofana 54'

Reading
No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
1	GK	ENG	Daniel Lincoln
2	DF	ENG	Niall Keown
3	DF	IRL	Shane Griffin
4	MF	ENG	Aaron Tshibola
5	DF	ENG	Jake Cooper 64'
6	DF	IRL	Pierce Sweeney
7	MF	ENG	Jack Stacey
8	MF	ENG	Aaron Kuhl
9	FW	ENG	Gozie Ugwu
10	FW	ENG	Craig Tanner
11	MF	ENG	Tarique Fosu-Henry
Sub	DF	IRL	Sean Long
Sub	GK	ENG	Lewis Ward
Sub	MF	ZIM	Shepherd Murombedzi
Sub	MF	IRL	Liam Kelly
Sub	FW	SCO	Harry Cardwell

Second leg

19 April 2014

15:00 BST

Reading	2–0	Manchester City
Fosu 72' Jack Stacey 74'	Report

Madjeski Stadium

Attendance: 3,034

Referee: Kevin Friend

Reading

Manchester City

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Reading
No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
1	GK	ENG	Daniel Lincoln
2	DF	IRL	Sean Long 68'
3	DF	IRL	Shane Griffin
4	DF	ENG	Niall Keown
5	DF	ENG	Jake Cooper
6	DF	IRL	Pierce Sweeney
7	MF	ENG	Aaron Tshibola
8	MF	ENG	Jack Stacey
9	MF	IRL	Liam Kelly
10	FW	ENG	Craig Tanner
11	FW	ENG	Gozie Ugwu
Sub	GK	ENG	Lewis Ward
Sub	MF	ZIM	Shepherd Murombedzi
Sub	MF	ISL	Samúel Friðjónsson
Sub	FW	SCO	Harry Cardwell
Sub	MF	ENG	Tarique Fosu 68'

Manchester City
No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
1	GK	IRL	Ian Lawlor
2	DF	ENG	Adam Drury 75'
3	DF	ENG	Shay Facey
4	DF	BEL	Jason Denayer
5	DF	ENG	Greg Leigh
6	MF	ENG	George Glendon
7	MF	FRA	Seko Fofana
8	MF	FRA	Olivier Ntcham
9	FW	POR	Marcos Lopes
10	FW	ENG	Devante Cole
11	FW	ENG	Jordy Hiwula
Sub	MF	AUT	Sinan Bytyqi 75'
Sub	DF	ENG	Ellis Plummer
Sub	GK	WAL	Billy O'Brien
Sub	MF	ENG	Kean Bryan
Sub

References

^ "Roddy: Under-21 PL Cup will sharpen competitive edge". PremierLeague.com. 8 September 2013. Archived from the original on 11 September 2013. Retrieved 8 September 2013.
^ "Premier League launches Under-21 Premier League Cup". PremierLeague.com. 8 September 2013. Archived from the original on 11 September 2013. Retrieved 8 September 2013.
^ "Under-21 Premier League Cup: Derbies emerge in draw". PremierLeague.com. 9 September 2013. Archived from the original on 12 September 2013. Retrieved 9 September 2013.
^ "Watford beat Bristol Rovers on penalties to progress in Under-21 Premier League Cup". Watford Observer.
^ "Report – Argyle U21s 0 Watford U21s 2". Plymouth Argyle FC.
^ "Under-21 Premier League Cup: Tough ties for Arsenal and Fulham". PremierLeague.com. 29 October 2013. Archived from the original on 24 October 2013. Retrieved 29 October 2013.
^ "Blues withdraw from U21 Cup". bcfc.com. 2 December 2013. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 2 December 2013.
^ "VILLA U21S 0-3 FULHAM". Fulham FC.
^ "Under-21 Cup: London derby pick of the draw". PremierLeague.com. 30 November 2013. Archived from the original on 29 November 2013. Retrieved 30 November 2013.
^ @ReadingFC (31 January 2014). "Reading's under 21s take on Watford today in a rearranged @PremierLeague cup encounter behind closed doors, kick off 1pm" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
^ "FFC U21S 0-1 ARSENAL U21S". Fulham FC.
^ "U21 Cup: Man City go to Newcastle, Chelsea await London derby". PremierLeague.com. 8 January 2014. Archived from the original on 9 January 2014. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
^ "2013–14 Season Programmes". Clarets Mad.

[1] "Roddy: Under-21 PL Cup will sharpen competitive edge". PremierLeague.com. 8 September 2013. Archived from the original on 11 September 2013. Retrieved 8 September 2013.

[2] "Premier League launches Under-21 Premier League Cup". PremierLeague.com. 8 September 2013. Archived from the original on 11 September 2013. Retrieved 8 September 2013.

[3] "Under-21 Premier League Cup: Derbies emerge in draw". PremierLeague.com. 9 September 2013. Archived from the original on 12 September 2013. Retrieved 9 September 2013.

[4] "Watford beat Bristol Rovers on penalties to progress in Under-21 Premier League Cup". Watford Observer.

[5] "Report – Argyle U21s 0 Watford U21s 2". Plymouth Argyle FC.

[6] "Under-21 Premier League Cup: Tough ties for Arsenal and Fulham". PremierLeague.com. 29 October 2013. Archived from the original on 24 October 2013. Retrieved 29 October 2013.

[7] "Blues withdraw from U21 Cup". bcfc.com. 2 December 2013. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 2 December 2013.

[8] "VILLA U21S 0-3 FULHAM". Fulham FC.

[9] "Under-21 Cup: London derby pick of the draw". PremierLeague.com. 30 November 2013. Archived from the original on 29 November 2013. Retrieved 30 November 2013.

[10] @ReadingFC (31 January 2014). "Reading's under 21s take on Watford today in a rearranged @PremierLeague cup encounter behind closed doors, kick off 1pm" (Tweet) – via Twitter.

[11] "FFC U21S 0-1 ARSENAL U21S". Fulham FC.

[12] "U21 Cup: Man City go to Newcastle, Chelsea await London derby". PremierLeague.com. 8 January 2014. Archived from the original on 9 January 2014. Retrieved 8 January 2014.

[13] "2013–14 Season Programmes". Clarets Mad.

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