Crystal Palace U21s Defended Well Admits AFC Wimbledon Boss | OneFootball

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AFC Wimbledon boss Johnnie Jackson admitted that Crystal Palace‘s Under-21 side defended very well against his men on Tuesday night.

Darren Powell’s young Crystal Palace side took on League One outfit AFC Wimbledon in their second game of the EFL Trophy group stage at Plough Lane.

Jackson’s side took the lead with the help of Joe Lewis’s goal in the first half, but 19-year-old Asher Agbinone equalised from a penalty.

However, a more experienced AFC Wimbledon side managed to seal a 3-1 victory over Crystal Palace with Antwoine Hackford and Kai Jennings’ goals.

Jackson admitted that Hackford, who he feels gets into goalscoring positions this season quite often, did not get too many opportunities on Tuesday due to the way Crystal Palace’s youngsters defended.

The AFC Wimbledon boss pointed out that Powell’s boys denied space to his forwards to run in behind and he praised their efforts.

When asked about Hackford’s goal, Jackson told AFC Wimbledon’s in-house media (2:53): “Look, he is getting chances, isn’t he? Every time he plays, really, whenever that is, coming from the bench or tonight when he starts and gets his opportunity.

“Probably did not have too many tonight; they sort of defended quite well, to be fair to them and denied us space in behind.”

Powell set up his defence with Luke Browne, George King and Mofe Jemide against AFC Wimbledon and all three of them are regulars for Crystal Palace’s Under-21 side.

They will be hoping to impress Oliver Glasner with their performances for the youth side to get into his first-team plans.

While their Under-21s were in EFL Trophy action, the Crystal Palace senior side played Millwall in the EFL Cup on Tuesday night.

The game finished 1-1 after normal time, with Palace then winning a penalty shootout to progress.