Norwich City Under-21s travel to Braintree Town on Tuesday night knowing victory, coupled with a better goal difference than Ipswich Town, would secure their place in the National League Cup quarter-finals.
Olly Lee’s side head into the final Group B fixture in a strong position, sitting alongside West Ham in the qualification places ahead of the 7.30pm kick-off at Cressing Road.
Braintree also have a chance of progressing with a win and favourable results elsewhere, with all but bottom-placed Worthing still in contention for qualification heading into an exciting final round of group fixtures.
Pos. | Name | PLD | GD | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Q | West Ham United PL2 | 3 | 6 | 9 |
2 | Norwich City PL2 | 3 | -1 | 5 |
3 | Ipswich Town PL2 | 3 | -2 | 5 |
4 | Hornchurch | 3 | 2 | 4 |
5 | Aldershot Town | 3 | -1 | 4 |
6 | Braintree Town | 3 | -1 | 4 |
7 | Fulham PL2 | 3 | -1 | 4 |
8 | Worthing | 3 | -2 | 1 |
The Canaries opened their campaign with a victory over Hornchurch, as goals from Botan Ameen and Elliot Myles either side of half-time secured all three points. They followed that up by earning two points against Worthing, winning on penalties after a 1-1 draw in normal time.
Olly Lee’s side most recently suffered defeat in the competition, losing 5-3 to Aldershot Town.
Braintree, meanwhile, began their campaign with a penalty shoot-out defeat to Ipswich Town before claiming their first three points at the start of September, with Alex Bolovan scoring nine minutes from time to secure victory over Fulham.
Like Norwich, the Iron fell to defeat in their most recent outing against table-toppers West Ham at the start of October, losing 4-2.
Hornchurch | 7pm KO | West Ham United PL2 |
Aldershot Town | 7.45pm KO | Ipswich Town PL2 |
Worthing | 7.45pm KO | Fulham PL2 |
Ahead of their Halloween fixture against Hampton & Richmond Borough, Braintree sit 20th in the National League South table, four points clear of the relegation zone.
They boosted their survival hopes on Tuesday night, with Louie Johnson opening the scoring before Alex Bolovan struck an injury-time winner to secure a vital 2-1 victory over Dagenham & Redbridge.
How to watch
Fans not heading to Hampshire can stream the National League clash live and free on the National League’s NL+ service. Fans can log in with an existing account, or sign up for free to watch the action, with highlights also available shortly after full-time.