Seventh Win In A Row Sees Young Foxes Into EFL Trophy Round 3
After defeating Sunderland and Grimsby Town and winning a shoot-out at Scunthorpe United to win Northern Group A, the Foxes arrived in Yorkshire on the back of six successive wins.
City’s line-up included just one change from last month’s 4-1 Premier League 2 Division 1 win over Derby County as defender Daniel Amartey made his first appearance since October 2018.
The 24-year-old suffered an ankle injury during a 1-1 draw with West Ham United over a year ago, but returned to action in Doncaster, replacing striker Josh Eppiah in a 5-3-2 system.
A dominant start to proceedings from the Foxes led to the visitors taking the lead inside just 12 minutes as Calvin Ughelumba’s cross fell to Admiral Muskwe in the box.
Ughelumba showed exceptional poise to escape the clutches of his marker in the midfield before bursting down the left flank and locating Zimbabwe international Muskwe to finish.
Leicester limited Doncaster to half chances for much of the first half with Ben Whiteman’s long-range effort on 33 minutes, saved by Viktor Johansson, being their first effort on target.
They went within inches of equalising shortly after as Kwame Thomas and Tom Anderson were denied first by the base of the post and then dogmatic work from Johansson and Mitchell Clark.
Such was Johansson’s commitment in that phase of play, the Sweden Under-21s goalkeeper was forced to withdraw at the interval, being replaced by Welsh shot-stopper, Rhys Davies.
Despite tackling Sky Bet League 1 opposition, it remained the visitors who enjoyed the best of the action in the second half, but in truth, chances were few and far between.
However, with 25 minutes to go, a forward ball was initially headed onto the bar by George Hirst, but there was Muskwe again to nod it over Ian Lawlor’s grasp and in to make it 2-0.
It was a fitting reward for City’s youngsters after an ambitious performance up until that point in Yorkshire, defined by their confidence in attacking positions.
A few minutes after the restart, though, they needed substitute ‘keeper Davies to be at his very best when Madger Gomes’ low drive was deflected at an awkward angle towards goal.
The Welshman, already committed to a dive in the opposite direction, was able to twist his body back into shape to make an extraordinary save before a late offside flag.
With minutes remaining, it got even better for Leicester as Hirst responded quickest to a loose ball in the area to apply a close-range finish, wrapping up a brilliant 3-0 win for the youthful visitors.
Major moment…
Alert as ever, Admiral Muskwe pounced in the 65th minute to score his and Leicester's second goal of the night to give the Club's Development Squad a two-goal cushion.
It allowed the Foxes to express themselves further in the final third of the pitch, eventually leading to George Hirst's late strike, as the visitors delivered yet another assured display.
Who impressed?
Netting either side of the break in Doncaster, senior Zimbabwe international striker Admiral Muskwe was undoubtedly Leicester City’s main man in Doncaster.
Not only did the 21-year-old show composure for his first finish and determination for his second, but he was also able to hold up play and release his colleagues in the final third.
Where does it leave us?
The Foxes are into Round 3 of the Leasing.com Trophy for just the second time since their participation as one of the invited Under-21s sides in 2016.
They will discover their opposition in the draw for Round 3 later this week, which takes place on Thursday evening at approximately 7:15pm.
There will be 16 clubs in Round 3 of the competition, with the draw split into Northern and Southern sections.
Coming up…
Leicester’s youngsters return to Premier League 2 Division 1 duties on Monday when they host champions Everton Holmes Park on Monday (7pm kick-off).
Supporters can watch live coverage of that clash - for free - on LCFC TV from 6:45pm.
The details…
City: Johansson (Davies 45’); Clark, Amartey, Johnson, Ughelumba, L. Thomas; G. Thomas (c), Dewsbury-Hall; Wright (Leshabela 74’); Hirst, Muskwe (Reghba 87')
Subs not used: O’Connor, Daley-Campbell, Tee, Eppiah
Attendance: 1,322
Goals: Muskwe 12’, 65’, Hirst 89'
All times GMT.