Cambridge United 6-0 Brighton & Hove Albion U21s
Jersey Mike’s Trophy Southern Group G
Tuesday 3rd November 2026
Cambridge United topped their Jersey Mike’s Trophy group in scintillating fashion as they thrashed 10-man Brighton & Hove Albion U21s 6-0 at the Cledara Abbey Stadium…
A straight red card from Ben Barclay five minutes before the break breathed life into the match as Isaac Heath gave his side the lead from the penalty spot and Ra’ees Bangura-Williams ensured a healthy lead going into the second half, where the U’s went from strength to strength as 17-year-old Dan Efobi capped his full debut with a goal and Callum Stead helped himself to a brace on his first start either side of an own goal.
Boasting a 100% record going into the matchup, United had dispatched Gillingham 1-4 and Northampton Town 2-1 but were out to bounce back after going winless in four in the third tier. The youthful Seagulls – who made this trip last season as the hosts held out for a 1-0 victory – were eager to progress following consecutive group stage exits and knew three points would put them in good stead.
Three days on from falling to a convincing 3-0 defeat at Leyton Orient, Neil Harris shuffled his pack with eight changes to the starting XI as only Cathal Heffernan, Callum Perry and George Hoddle kept their place.
With very little to report on in a low-key start to proceedings, both sides found time on the ball but there wasn’t enough invention to force any shots of note.
On the cusp of the half hour mark, Bangura-Williams caused the first scare when he embarked on a jinking run inside the penalty area, twisting and turning before pulling the trigger from an angle which was blocked away for a corner.
Straight up the other end, Shannon Ruth’s side accumulated the first attempt at goal when Valentin Joseph raced into space and slotted Kofi Shaw in with a through ball but his low first-time effort was well-stopped by an assuring Gabriel Breeze.
Former U George Munday tested his luck for the first time on the 37th minute with a long-range drill, but it fell safely into the gloves of Breeze, who kick-started an attack that Cambridge would greatly profit from.
A lofted ball towards Stead was purposely handled by the experienced Barclay inside the penalty area, handing referee Craig Hicks no choice but to point to the spot. Up stepped Heath, who coolly sent Steven Hall the wrong way to open the scoring.
Immediately making the most of their extra man advantage, the U’s doubled their lead three minutes later when Bangura-Williams fired a tidy left-footed curler into the far corner from the right-hand side of the box.
Well and truly in the ascendency, the match was almost wrapped up before the break when George Hoddle won the ball off Munday and scampered into the area from the left before unleashing a venomous shot which cracked the post – a lively end to a first half where United had found their momentum and had further plans of capitalising on it.
Out of the blocks firing, Stead was teed up by Heath and aimed for the bottom corner, but Hall did well to prevent, but the visiting goalkeeper couldn’t do anything about a slick move on 49 when substitutes Glenn McConnell and Zak Bradshaw combined with the latter cutting back to Efobi who fired home for a memorable moment.
Five minutes later, it was 4-0 as Heath’s pace and trickery on the flank caused havoc, freeing up the space to drill into the six-yard box where Stead was there to tap in to get himself off the mark for the campaign.
One-way traffic continued, with Efobi’s powerful attempt firing inches over the crossbar and Stead lashing agonisingly wide of the far post. The U’s soon found their fifth however on the 64th minute when Efobi went to win Perry’s cross, but it was directed into his own net by a Brighton man.
Another delivery from Perry resulted in Stead helping himself to his brace four minutes later as he got his body to the cross with a composed finish into the bottom corner, cueing some swaps for Harris as he introduced Lohan McDougald, Owen Moxon and Louis Appere for the final 20 minutes.
Keeping up the intensity as the game wore on, Lohan McDougald very nearly grabbed his first strike in amber when the Academy prospect was denied from the centre of the box by the feet of Hall, before the goalkeeper was then forced into action to punch away Perry’s thunderous 25-yard attempt.
On the 89th minute, a counter from the Seagulls saw Munday test his luck from just inside the area, but Breeze was on hand at the near post to claim and keep his clean sheet intact, with the U’s controlling the ball until the final whistle as they convincingly secured their passage into the knockout stages.
Attention now turns to the Emirates FA Cup on Friday evening (6th November) as the U’s make the trip to the Memorial Stadium for a First Round meeting with Bristol Rovers – be sure to back the boys.
Cambridge United: Breeze, Curtis, Heffernan, Bauer (Bradshaw, 46’), Perry, Hoddle, McLoughlin (Moxon, 70’), Bangura-Williams (McConnell, 46’), Stead (Appere, 70’), Heath, Efobi (McDougald, 70’)
Subs Not Used: Briggs, Bennett
Goalscorers: Heath (39’), Bangura-Williams (41’), Efobi (49’), Stead (53’, 68’), OG (64’)
Bookings:
Brighton & Hove Albion U21s: Hall, Mackley, Barclay, Ferdinand, Keogh, Shaw (Alakiu, 46’), Nti (A. Palmer, 60’), Silsby (B. Palmer, 80’), Ibrahim (Lane, 60’), Joseph (Crutchett, 60’), Munday
Subs Not Used: Dike, West
Goalscorers:
Bookings: Barclay (RED), Alakiu
Referee: Craig Hicks
Attendance: 566