Milton Keynes Dons v West Ham United U21s
EFL Trophy Southern Group D, Stadium MK, Tuesday 16 August, 7pm BST
West Ham United U21s return from the international window to begin their 2025/26 Vertu Trophy campaign on Tuesday evening, travelling to face MK Dons.
Mark Robson’s development side meet senior opposition for the first time since opening the new season with a 2-0 win at Woking in the National League Cup.
This time around, they take on EFL League Two opposition in MK Dons, who come into Tuesday's tie on the back of home league defeats by Walsall and Grimsby Town and most recently a 1-1 draw at Chesterfield on Saturday.
Drawn in Southern Group D, the young Hammers will also take on Reading on Tuesday 30 October before concluding the group stage against early pace-setters Swindon Town on Tuesday 28 October.
How To Follow…
Tuesday’s fixture will be broadcast live on Sky Sports+ and therefore will not be streamed on the Club’s YouTube channel.
Supporters can instead keep up with events via the live blog on the Club’s website and app, with a match report and post-match reaction to follow the final whistle. Highlights will be available on Wednesday.
Tickets
General admission tickets are available in the East Stand, priced at £10 for Adults, £5 for Over-65s and Under-18s and £1 for Under-12s.
Travel
Stadium MK is well connected by road, with clear signage from the M1, A5 and major routes into Milton Keynes.
Supporters travelling by car are advised to pre-book parking in the N1 car park, which costs £8 if secured 24 hours in advance via RingGo (location code 63466). Matchday parking will be £10, subject to availability.
By rail, Bletchley Station, served by London Northwestern Railway on the London to Birmingham line, is around a 30-minute walk from the stadium, with a signposted route.
Several Arriva bus services, including the X1, X2, X3, X4, 5, 6 and Loop routes, also stop close to Stadium MK along Saxon Street.
For more details, supporters can visit the MK Dons website for their full matchday guide.
Vertu Trophy Explained
The Vertu Trophy brings together clubs from League One and League Two alongside 16 Category One Academies, including our U21s.
The 64 competing teams are divided into 16 regional groups of four. Clubs earn three points for a win and one for a draw, with a penalty shootout held after 90 minutes in the event of a stalemate to determine the winner of an extra point.
The top two teams in each group qualify for the knockout rounds, which remain regionalised until the quarter-finals. All ties are settled on the night via penalties if necessary, with only the Wembley final going to extra time.
Opposition
MK Dons, led by Paul Warne, made a bright start to their League Two campaign, going unbeaten in their first five matches while scoring seven goals and conceding just two.
More recently, defeats to promotion hopefuls Walsall and Grimsby Town have checked their momentum, although the Dons almost salvaged a point from 3-0 down with ten men against the Mariners, who themselves recently claimed a famous EFL Cup victory over Manchester United. They currently sit one point of the play-off places after a 1-1 draw at Chesterfield on Saturday.
With former Premier League players Callum Paterson and Nathaniel Méndez-Laing in their ranks, it is sure to be an exciting test for our young Hammers at the Dons’ 30,000-seater stadium.
MK Dons won the EFL Trophy in 2008, when they defeated Grimsby 2-0 at Wembley, with current Brentford head coach Keith Andrews scoring their opening goals. However, the Buckinghamshire side have not gone past the round of 16 since 2010.
How Things Stand in Group D
Swindon Town and Reading got their Vertu Trophy campaign underway on Tuesday 2 September.
The first encounter between the two Wiltshire sides since 2002, more than 1,000 travelling Reading supporters made up a third of the attendance at Swindon's County Ground.
Reading of League One were edged out by their League Two counterparts, managed by Ian Holloway, by the odd goal in five. In that game, the Royals, including substitutes, handed minutes to nine members of their U21s squad.
Vertu Trophy Southern Group D
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Swindon Town | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 2 | Milton Keynes Dons | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 3 | West Ham United | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 4 | Reading | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 0 |
The Story So Far...
Our U21s got their season underway against senior opposition in the National League cup, opening their account with a 2-0 victory over Woking, courtesy of goals from Lewis Orford, now on loan at Stevenage, and Mohamadou Kanté.
In Premier League 2, a competition our U21s have finished inside the top four in each of the past two seasons in the 26-team division (expanded to 29 this year with the addition of Ipswich Town, Birmingham City and Burnley), Mark Robson's side faced tough early assignments against reigning champions Manchester City and Nottingham Forest, the holders of the Premier League International Cup.
After narrow defeats, they bounced back before the break with a 4-2 victory at Sunderland, PL2 finalists in 2024, to claim their first league points of the new campaign.