Midweek cup action saw all four of our Academy loanees feature, with full debuts handed to Kaelan Casey at Swansea City and Gideon Kodua at Luton Town.
After a 20-minute cameo at the weekend, Casey made his first start for the Swans in their Carabao Cup win over Crawley Town.
Winning his duels and making important defensive stops, the 20-year-old also impressed Swans fans with his composure in possession. Partnering fellow summer arrival Cameron Burgess, signed from Ipswich Town, Casey helped the hosts cruise into the second round with a 3-1 victory over their League Two visitors.
Kodua also made his first start for his loan club in the Carabao Cup, operating from the right hand side of midfield for Luton Town. The 20-year-old offered a lively attacking outlet, but a Hatters side featuring eleven changes from the weekend’s win over Peterborough United fell to a narrow 1-0 defeat away to Frank Lampard’s Coventry City.
Michael Forbes’ Northampton Town were also in first-round Carabao Cup action against Championship opposition. Despite an encouraging display, the Cobblers suffered the same scoreline as Kodua’s Luton, going down 1-0 to Southampton. Forbes, who has started both of Kevin Nolan’s league matches so far, came off the bench for the final half-hour as his side pressed for an equaliser.
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In the National League Cup, Mason Terry made it back-to-back clean sheets for early Enterprise National League leaders Braintree Town, as they overcame Leicester City U21s 2-0 at Cressing Road. The 20-year-old goalkeeper produced a string of important saves to earn the fans’ man-of-the-match award and send the Iron to the top of the Group B standings.