Crystal Palace Under 21s are set to take on a resurgent AFC Wimbledon at Cherry Red Records Stadium on Tuesday evening, matchday two of the EFL Trophy. Wimbledon have endured a tricky start in the competition and will be eager to bounce back — while Palace will look to cause an upset.
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Palace Under‑21s kicked off their 2025/26 Vertu Motors Trophy campaign with a thrilling 3‑3 draw away at Bromley.
Zach Marsh opened the scoring (27′) with a header, Adler Nascimento followed up with a spectacular 35‑yard strike, and Marsh secured a late equaliser (88′) after Bromley had twice taken the lead. Palace were the only U21s in the competition to avoid defeat inside 90 minutes.
Bromley won the bonus point via a 4‑3 penalty shootout and consequently Palace sit third in Group E with one point.
That spirited performance came on the back of an unbeaten start in Premier League 2. Darren Powell’s side started with a thrilling 3-2 win over Tottenham - thanks to a Marsh hat-trick – and followed it up with a hard-fought goalless draw with West Brom.
AFC Wimbledon began their 2025/26 EFL Trophy campaign with a 5-1 defeat at home to Stevenage.
Danilo Orsi opened the scoring from the penalty spot, but goals from Gassan Ahadme (2), Phoenix Patterson, Harvey White, and Beryly Lubala gave the visitors a convincing win.
Despite being rock bottom of Group E yet to register a point, Wimbledon remain in contention with two matches still to play.
In the league, the Wombles ended a four-game losing streak with a 2-1 comeback win over Rotherham United on Saturday.
Jordan Hugill gave the visitors the lead just before half-time, but second-half goals from captain Jack Reeves and Matty Stevens secured the points. The result moved Johnnie Jackson’s side up to 11th in League One on 12 points, just four behind leaders Cardiff City.
Wimbledon started the season strongly, collecting nine points from their opening five matches, including a 2-0 win over Barnsley with goals from Stevens and Antwoine Hackford.
They followed that with a 3-2 loss at Bradford City, before defeats to Reading in the EFL Cup and Stevenage in the EFL Trophy. A 3-0 loss at Bolton preceded their win over Rotherham.
The club secured promotion from League Two last season, finishing fifth and beating Walsall 1-0 in the Play-Off Final at Wembley. Myles Hippolyte scored the only goal. It ended a three-year stay in the fourth tier.
Midway through last season, their pitch at the Cherry Red Records Stadium was severely damaged by flooding. The club received support from across the football community to fund the repairs.
Despite dropping out of the automatic promotion places late in the season as the goals dried up, with top-scorer Matty Stevens scoring just once in the final 19 matches. But three consecutive 1-0 play-off wins sent them back up to League One.
AFC Wimbledon made three changes for their recent league win over Rotherham United. Patrick Bauer came in for his first League One start, replacing the suspended Joe Lewis at centre-back. Omar Bugiel also made his first league start of the season, stepping in for Marcus Browne, who was also suspended.
Ryan Johnson returned from international duty with Northern Ireland and slotted straight back into the starting XI, with Riley Harbottle dropping to the bench.
In their opening EFL Trophy fixture against Stevenage, manager Johnnie Jackson opted to rotate heavily, making wholesale changes to the starting line-up.
Centre-back Riley Horan was handed his senior debut, having signed his first professional contract in the summer, while new loan signing Brodi Hughes also made his first appearance for the club. A similarly rotated side could be expected against Palace.
McDonnell, Hughes, Horan, Bauer, Harbottle, Hackford, Maycock, McCoy-Splatt, Sasu, Bugiel, Orsi
AFC Wimbledon have scored 10 goals in League One so far this season, placing them 10th in the division for goals scored. Defensively, they have been slightly stronger, conceding just nine times across their opening fixtures.
Their off-the-ball work has also stood out — the Wombles rank among the top two teams in the league for blocks and clearances made, underlining their organisation at the back.
Matty Stevens joined AFC Wimbledon in May 2024 on a two-year deal following his release from Forest Green Rovers, where he departed as the club’s joint-second all-time leading goalscorer with 51 goals in 133 appearances.
The 27-year-old made an immediate impact at Plough Lane, scoring on his debut in a 4-2 win over Colchester United. He went on to hit 20 goals in his first 38 appearances, helping Wimbledon push for automatic promotion in League Two.
However, as the team’s form dipped late in the season, Stevens struggled to maintain his early momentum, scoring just once in their final 19 matches. Despite that, Wimbledon earned promotion via the play-offs.
Now back in League One, Stevens has made a strong start to the new campaign, netting five times in his first nine appearances. He is currently joint top scorer in the division alongside Davis Keillor-Dunn (Mansfield), Bobby Pointon (Bradford), and Jamie Reid (Stevenage).
Johnnie Jackson began his professional career at Tottenham Hotspur, coming through their youth ranks. He made his first‐team debut in the 2003–04 season and scored his first league goal away at Charlton in February 2004. However, he struggled to establish himself at Spurs and moved to Colchester United in 2006.
At Colchester, Jackson became a regular, making around 100 league appearances and scoring over a dozen goals. He won the club’s Player of the Year in 2008. In 2009, he joined Notts County for a season before moving to Charlton Athletic in 2010.
Jackson's time at Charlton was the defining phase of his career. He made nearly 280 appearances for the club, scoring over 50 goals. Notably, he captained Charlton to the 2011–12 League One title, scoring 13 league goals that season. He also became a consistent presence in the Championship in subsequent seasons, noted for his leadership and contributions from midfield.
After retiring in 2018, Jackson transitioned into coaching at Charlton. He was appointed as first-team coach and later served as caretaker manager multiple times. In May 2022, he became manager of AFC Wimbledon following their relegation to League Two.
Under Jackson's guidance, AFC Wimbledon achieved promotion to League One in 2025, culminating in a play-off final victory.
An early first-half brace from AFC Wimbledon’s Josh Davison condemned Palace U21s to a 2-0 defeat on a cold Tuesday night in November 2023 at the Cherry Red Records stadium.
