U19s Reaction: Petty Delighted For Young Foxes

- The young Foxes earned their first win thanks to three brilliant strikes at Loughborough University

- Alex Pascanu hammered in a volley, before Layton Ndukwu scored an excellent brace in the second half 

Ben Petty believes the Under-19s’ 3-2 UEFA Youth League victory over FC Copenhagen on Tuesday will give the young Foxes a huge boost going forward. 

City earned their first Youth League win thanks to a gutsy performance against the Danish outfit at Loughborough University. 

The visitors went 1-0 up early on but were then reduced to 10 men after goalkeeper Filip Djukic was dismissed for handling the ball outside the area. 

The young Foxes eventually capitalised on their one-man advantage, as Layton Nduwku netted a superb brace after Alex Pascanu had levelled the game with a stunning volley. 

“I think the sending off was a game changer,” Petty told LCFC TV after the game. “We would have hoped to start the game a little bit better than we did, but the we went 1-0 down and the sending off gave us a lift. 

“I thought then we were terrific up until about 70 minutes. We scored three fantastic goals and then they did so too from a set play, which made us a little nervous. I’m delighted for the lads though because it was a great win for us. 

“It was massive to score before half-time because we had a lot of possession and had the ball in good areas but hadn’t really produced anything with real quality. 

“Alex [Pascanu] then popped up from right back and produced a wonderful volley, which gave us a real lift. It changed the way we set up in the second half.” 

Petty also credited Ndukwu, whose two excellent goals from distance showed just how much quality the England youth international possesses. 

Petty added: “I’m delighted with Layton because we’ve really given him a challenge in the last couple of games. He was brilliant for the Under-23s against Chelsea on Friday and today he showed how good he is one-on-one and technically. 

“That’ll give him a real boost moving forward because his two goals were fantastic. It gave the team a real boost.”