Brighton & Hove Albion under-23 striker Aaron Connolly has been nominated for the Checkatrade Trophy Player of the Round for Round One.
Despite narrowly missing out on reaching the knockout stages, the 18-year-old fired five goals across matches against Luton Town, Peterborough United and MK Dons.
The forward found the back of the net against the Hatters at Kenilworth Road in Albion’s opening group match, but the Sky Bet League One side sealed a 2-1 victory.
Connolly then started Albion’s comeback with a fine finish from outside the box against Peterborough at the ABAX Stadium, before Jordan Davies levelled the game at 2-2.
The Seagulls ended up winning the resulting penalty shootout for an extra point, with Connolly scoring the winning penalty to keep Albion’s hopes of progress alive.
Simon Rusk’s team then travelled to Stadium MK last week and found themselves 1-0 and 2-1 behind during the match, but an impressive hat-trick from Connolly secured three points against the Sky Bet League Two side.
Unfortunately, Albion exited the competition by just one goal on goal difference, despite taking five points from their three matches against EFL opposition.
Joining Connolly on the shortlist for the award are Ade Azeez [Cambridge United], Calum Butcher [Mansfield Town], Luke Matheson [Rochdale], Dara O’Shea [Exeter City] and Toby Stevenson [Charlton Athletic].
Click here to cast your vote. Voting closes on Friday 23rd November at midday.