- Chituru Odunze says Leicester City’s Development Squad delivered a solid defensive performance against Barrow on Tuesday
- They were beaten by a 92nd-minute effort from Jordan Stevens
- City’s final Papa John’s Trophy fixture finished 1-0 at The Dunes Hotel Stadium
- Odunze made a string of excellent saves for the Foxes
The Foxes were a threat in stages, and had a goal ruled out when Bayli Spencer-Adams had his close-range finish chalked off for offside in the opening 45 minutes.
The encounter looked as if it would head to a penalty shootout, but a stunner from Jordan Stevens won the game for Barrow in injury time.
Still, Odunze, who made three big saves during the match, remained positive at the full-time whistle at The Dunes Hotel Stadium.
He told LCFC TV: “It’s really difficult because we performed so well throughout the game. Everyone’s defended well and everyone’s gone into the game the way we wanted to. In the last minute, it was a great finish.
“I said it to the boys, if we got a clean sheet in the first half, we’ll get a clean sheet in the second half too. We were solid, and we were close, but close wasn’t enough.”
He was a significant presence in the City goal all night, but it was his save from Ozzy Zanzala that stood out, as he somehow got a glove to the substitute's point-blank strike.
“I didn’t even know it happened,” Odunze said. “It was quite close but my hands moved before my mind could really think, but luckily I saved it!”
Although Odunze and his men were left frustrated at the outcome of the match, he says they will learn a great deal from their match against the Sky Bet League 2 team.
He added: “We went into the game knowing that we were a younger side, so we had to make sure we out-thought them and out-ran them, and really play our game to make sure that we also do the physical side of it as well.
“We all know when we play in the EFL Trophy, we’re in for a bit more of a physical challenge than we normally have, but I felt like we dealt with it well and we were unlucky at the end.
“It’s always a good experience for us when we come down to a stadium and play in front of more fans than we usually do.”