McCarthy pleased with intensity in win over Northampton

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The under-21s started their EFL Trophy campaign with a 3-0 victory at Sixfields.

2026-08-19T09:30+01:00

Jason McCarthy saw his under-21s make it two wins from two at the start of the season. 📷Simon Roe

Men's U-21s coach Jason McCarthy was left purring about Albion's performance after an impressive 3-0 win kicked off this season's bid for EFL Trophy glory at Northampton on Tuesday.

"We talked about how we wanted to look and feel at the start, so I was very pleased with the intensity and the way we established ourselves in the game early on," said McCarthy, making clear reference to the two-goal salvo which saw Albion in early command at Sixfields.

Charlie Tasker headed home Miah Oriola's chipped cross on eight minutes before the goal of the night, a fine left-footed strike just inside the box from Kamari Doyle which put Brighton 2-0 up by the 15-minute mark.

He added: "The players put great value on their running, duels and showed real courage with the ball.

"Games against EFL opposition offer a really good challenge - close to the reality of the next step many of the group will go into.

"We showed good positional discipline, our detail with the ball was really good in progressing good situations and we were ruthless when we needed to be."

Striker Mark O'Mahony displayed just such a trait not long after half-time, making it 3-0 when sweeping home with authority from the penalty spot after Josh Robertson had been tripped just inside the area.

McCarthy declined the chance to highlight any individual displays, preferring to praise the matchday squad as a whole.

"Whether it was the guys who’ve had good loan experience bringing that into the team performance for us or some of the younger ones stepping into it for the first time, the game plan was carried out excellently,” he added.

"Northampton piled a bit of pressure on in the last ten minutes or so, but by then we had already worked really hard to put the result beyond any doubt."

A busy schedule of Premier League 2 fixtures and games in other cup competitions mean the Seagulls aren't back in EFL Trophy action until trip to Gillingham on Tuesday 13 October, before rounding off their Southern Group G three-game schedule on Tuesday November 3 at Cambridge United.

They play their opening game in PL2 on Friday away to Aston Villa.