Preview: MU21s face Crawley in Trophy opener

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Our under-21s begin their EFL Trophy campaign on Tuesday night.

2024-08-20T06:00+01:00

Zane Albarus has made the step up to the under-21s this season. 📷 by Paul Hazlewood.

Albion under-21 head coach Shannon Ruth is ensuring that his team, who visit Crawley Town on Tuesday in the Bristol Street Motors Trophy, follow the ideas and values that new head coach Fabian Hurzeler is introducing in the first team.

Spectators at the opening Premier League 2 match of the season at home to West Ham United on Friday evening were struck by the similarities between the way Ruth’s young side pressed their visitors high up the pitch and the displays of Kaoru Mitoma and company in pre-season friendly victories over Queens Park Rangers and Villarreal.

“We are certainly being influenced by Fabian’s ideas and principles,” Ruth said. “That is something we are keen to do.

Shannon Ruth's team lost their opening game of the season 2-0 to West Ham. 📷 by Paul Hazlewood.

"The first team and under-21s are working quite closely. I have been lucky enough to spend some time with Fabian and his coaching team to try and understand what they want from the young players and also the way they are going to play - certainly around counter-pressing and having high intensity about our game. They have been the first key principles that we have been trying to implement.”

Ruth’s opening 4-2-4 formation was also a departure from last season’s usual 4-2-3-1, and was another echo of the first-team pattern - although he will vary formations when a match situation demands it.

“We try to give the players a head start on how the first team want to play so that when they do, we hope, make that step up, they are not having to think too hard about the system and principles because they will be able to continue doing what they do every day.

"But within the game we also tried to change the rhythm with different formation because we have players who allow us to do that. The profile of the team allowed us to flexible throughout the game.”