Crystal Palace Under-21s secured a landmark result on Tuesday night, defeating Newport County 2-1 at Rodney Parade to book their place in the EFL Trophy knockout stages for the first time in the Academy’s history.
The Young Eagles made an assertive start in south Wales, with Amaari Sealey and Zavier Gozo combining in the opening stages. Palace took the lead after 10 minutes when Sealey’s corner created uncertainty inside the Newport penalty area and Jasper Judd reacted quickest to finish.
Gozo came close to adding a second with a dangerous free-kick, while George King produced a remarkable defensive intervention to divert Dan Sassi’s header onto the crossbar. Palace continued to threaten through David Angibeaud, Chuks Okoli, Sealey and Judd, although Newport also created opportunities before the interval.
The hosts levelled three minutes after the restart when James Crole converted Shaquille Gwengwe’s cut-back. Harry Lee then kept Palace in contention with an important double-save, and the goalkeeper would later make another crucial stop during seven minutes of added time.
Palace found the winning goal in the 78th minute. Joe Gibbard’s pass released Angibeaud, who controlled the ball before calmly rolling his finish beyond the advancing Jake Turner. Newport pushed for another equaliser in the closing stages, but the Young Eagles held firm to complete a historic victory and celebrate with the travelling Palace supporters at Rodney Parade.
