2018–19 EFL Trophy

EFL Trophy 2018–19
Region	England
Dates	4 September 2018 – 31 March 2019
Number of teams	64
Defending champions	Lincoln City
Champions	Portsmouth
Runner-up	Sunderland
Total matches played	97
Total goals scored	313
Top goal scorer	Dom Telford (7 goals)
← 2017-18	2019-20 →

The 2018–19 EFL Trophy, known as the Checkatrade Trophy for sponsorship reasons, was the 36th season in the history of the competition, a knock-out tournament for English football clubs in League One and League Two of the English football system, and also including 16 Premier League and Championship "B teams" with Category One status.

Participating clubs

• Forty-eight clubs from League One and League Two
• Sixteen invited Category One Academy teams.

Of the sixteen invited Category One academies, fourteen competed in the 2017–18 competition; only Arsenal and Wolverhampton Wanderers didn't participate. Arsenal rejected an invitation to compete in each of the previous two tournaments, while Wolves weren't invited to compete in 2017–18 competition after fielding a side in the 2016–17 edition.

Reading and Sunderland's academy sides were not invited after participation in the previous two years; Sunderland's first team will compete for the first time since the 1987–88 competition, however, following their relegation to League One. Barnsley and Burton Albion are both returning to the competition after relegation; they last competed in the 2015–16 season when Barnsley won the trophy.

Macclesfield Town are competing for the first time since the 2011–12 edition, following their promotion from the National League. Fellow promoted side Tranmere Rovers are returning after a four year hiatus.

Liverpool and Manchester United both rejected an invitation to compete for the third successive season.

	League One	League Two	Academies
Clubs	Accrington Stanley AFC Wimbledon Barnsley Blackpool Bradford City Bristol Rovers Burton Albion Charlton Athletic Coventry City Doncaster Rovers Fleetwood Town Gillingham Luton Town Oxford United Peterborough United Plymouth Argyle Portsmouth Rochdale Scunthorpe United Shrewsbury Town Southend United Sunderland Walsall Wycombe Wanderers	Bury Cambridge United Carlisle United Cheltenham Town Colchester United Crawley Town Crewe Alexandra Exeter City Forest Green Rovers Grimsby Town Lincoln City Macclesfield Town Mansfield Town Milton Keynes Dons Morecambe Newport County Northampton Town Notts County Oldham Athletic Port Vale Stevenage Swindon Town Tranmere Rovers Yeovil Town	Arsenal Brighton & Hove Albion Chelsea Everton Fulham Leicester City Manchester City Middlesbrough Newcastle United Southampton Stoke City Swansea City Tottenham Hotspur West Bromwich Albion West Ham United Wolverhampton Wanderers
Total	24	24	16

Eligibility criteria for players

For EFL Clubs

• Minimum of four qualifying outfield players in their starting XI. A qualifying outfield player will be one who meets any of the following requirements:
  • Any player who started the previous or following first-team fixture
  • Any player who is in the top 10 players at the club, who have made the most starting appearances in league and domestic cup competitions that season
  • Any player with 40 or more first-team appearances in their career
  • Any player on loan from a Premier League club or any EFL Category One Academy club.
• A club can play any eligible goalkeeper in the competition

For invited teams

• Minimum of six players in the starting line-up who played at under-21 level, as at 30 June 2018.
• Teams may only include two players on the team sheet, aged over 21, who have made forty or more senior appearances, as at 30 June 2018.
  • A senior appearance will be defined as having played in a professional first-team fixture. A non-playing substitute does not count.

Competition format

Group Stage

• Sixteen groups of 4 teams will be organised on a regionalised basis.
• All groups will include one invited club.
• All clubs will play each other once, either home or away.
• Clubs will be awarded three points for a win and one point for a draw.
• In the event of a drawn game (after 90 minutes), a penalty shootout will be held with the winning team earning an additional point.
• The top two teams will progress to the Knockout Stage.

Knockout Stage

• Round 2 and 3 of the competition will be drawn on a regionalised basis.
• In Round 2, the group winners shall be seeded and the group runners-up shall be unseeded in the draw.
• In Round 2, teams who played in the same group as each other in the Group Stage shall not be drawn against each other.

Group Stage

Northern Section

Group A

Pos	Lge	Team	Pld	W	PW	PL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	L1	Sunderland (Q)	3	2	1	0	0	4	1	+3	8	Advance to Round 2
2	ACA	Stoke City U21 (Q)	3	1	1	1	0	3	2	+1	6
3	L2	Carlisle United	3	1	0	1	1	5	6	–1	4
4	L2	Morecambe	3	0	0	0	3	3	6	–3	0

4 September 2018 (2018-09-04)	Carlisle United	3–2	Morecambe	Brunton Park
19:45 BST	Glendon  13' Gillesphey  38' Yates  76'	Report	Oliver  6' Piggott  24'	Attendance: 1,213 (117 Away) Referee: Andy Haines

4 September 2018 (2018-09-04)	Sunderland	0–0 (4–2 pen)	Stoke City U21s	Stadium of Light
19:45 BST		Report		Attendance: 7,644 Referee: Martin Coy
		Penalties
	Sinclair McGeouch O'Nien Hume		Campbell Souttar Sørensen Szerető

9 October 2018 (2018-10-09)	Morecambe	1–2	Stoke City U21s	Globe Arena
19:45 BST	Oswell  26'	Report	Shenton  9' Campbell  57'	Attendance: 512 Referee: Anthony Backhouse

9 October 2018 (2018-10-09)	Sunderland	3–1	Carlisle United	Stadium of Light
19:45 BST	Kimpioka  3' Robson  34' Honeyman  63'	Report	Nadesan  22'	Attendance: 8,112 (330 Away) Referee: Ben Toner

13 November 2018 (2018-11-13)	Carlisle United	1–1 (4–5 pen)	Stoke City U21s	Brunton Park
19:45 BST	Sowerby  23'	Report	Campbell  34'	Attendance: 882 (71 Away) Referee: Martin Coy
		Penalties
	Grainger Yates Jones Nadesan McCarron Miller		Dunwoody Campbell Thandi Clucas Jarvis Shenton

13 November 2018 (2018-11-13)	Morecambe	0–1	Sunderland	Globe Arena
19:45 BST		Report	Maja  90+1'	Attendance: 2,377 (1,569 Away) Referee: Paul Marsden

Group B

Pos	Lge	Team	Pld	W	PW	PL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1		[[]]	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Round 2
2		[[]]	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
3		[[]]	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
4		[[]]	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

4 September 2018 (2018-09-04)	Rochdale	2–1	Bury	Spotland Stadium
19:45	Clough  16' Matty Gillam  19'	Report	Lavery  70' (pen.)	Attendance: 1,582 (359 Away) Referee: Carl Boyeson

11 September 2018 (2018-09-11)	Fleetwood Town	2–2 (6–7 pen)	Leicester City U21s	Highbury Stadium
19:45	Long  33' McAleny  49' Bolger  61'	Report	Loft  81', 90+5'	Attendance: 504 Referee: Peter Wright
		Penalties
	McAleny G. Jones Garner Biggins Clarke Spurr Sheron Dempsey		Diabaté Choudhury Wright Dewsbury-Hall Knight Johnson Martis Loft

9 October 2018 (2018-10-09)	Fleetwood Town	0–2	Rochdale	Highbury Stadium
19:45			Williams  16' Cannon  16'	Attendance: 669 Referee: Ross Joyce

16 October 2018 (2018-10-16)	Bury	2–1	Leicester City U21s	Gigg Lane
19:45	Telford  4', 67' McFadzean  15'		Shade  21'	Attendance: 454 Referee: Ollie Yates

7 November 2018 (2018-11-07)	Rochdale	2–2 (3-4 pen)	Leicester City U21s	Spotland Stadium
19:45	Andrew  6' McNulty  17'		Pașcanu  28' Loft  66'	Attendance: 615 Referee: Thomas Bramall
		Penalties

13 November 2018 (2018-11-13)	Bury	3–1	Fleetwood Town	Gigg Lane
19:45	Telford  21' (pen.) Dagnall  32' Adams  37'		Dempsey  11'	Attendance: 554 (51 away) Referee: Anthony Backhouse

Group C

Pos	Lge	Team	Pld	W	PW	PL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1		[[]]	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Round 2
2		[[]]	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
3		[[]]	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
4		[[]]	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

4 September 2018 (2018-09-04)	Macclesfield Town	3–3 (5–3 pen)	Blackpool	Moss Rose
19:45	Blissett  14' Rose  35', 78' (pen.)	Report	31' Guy  90' O'Sullivan  90+4' O'Connor	Attendance: 639 Referee: Chris Sarginson
		Penalties
	Whitaker Smith Fitzpatrick Wilson Rose		Pritchard Taylor Heneghan Bola

9 October 2018 (2018-10-09)	Accrington Stanley	4–1	Macclesfield Town	Crown Ground
19:45	Finley  35' Zanzala  63' Fitzpatrick  82' (o.g.) Barlaser  90+5'		Vincenti  58'	Attendance: 900 Referee: Thomas Bramall

9 October 2018 (2018-10-09)	Blackpool	1–2	West Bromwich Albion U21s	Bloomfield Road
19:45

6 November 2018 (2018-11-06)	Accrington Stanley	2–1	West Bromwich Albion U21s	Crown Ground
19:45

13 November 2018 (2018-11-13)	Blackpool	3–2	Accrington Stanley	Bloomfield Road
19:45

13 November 2018 (2018-11-13)	Macclesfield Town	2–1	West Bromwich Albion U21s	Moss Rose
19:45

Group D

Pos	Lge	Team	Pld	W	PW	PL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1		[[]]	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Round 2
2		[[]]	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
3		[[]]	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
4		[[]]	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

28 August 2018 (2018-08-28)	Shrewsbury Town	1–1 (3–1 pen)	Manchester City U21s	New Meadow
19:00	Angol  51'	Report	Touaizi  90+2'	Attendance: Paul Marsden Referee: 1,838
		Penalties
	Okenabirhie John-Lewis Doug Loft Norburn Colkett		Touaizi Bernabé Matondo Dele-Bashiru

4 September 2018 (2018-09-04)	Tranmere Rovers	3–4	Crewe Alexandra	Prenton Park
19:45:00	Harris  45+4' Stockton  45+10' Mullin  46'	Report	Porter  20', 85' Nicholls  73' Jones  86'	Attendance: 2,174 Referee: Graham Salisbury

25 September 2018 (2018-09-25)	Crewe Alexandra	1–4	Manchester City U21s	Gresty Road
19:30	Nicholls  51'		Dele-Bashiru  2' Gonzalez  22' Richards  78, p' Ogunby  90'	Attendance: 810

9 October 2018 (2018-10-09)	Shrewsbury Town	6–0	Tranmere Rovers	New Meadow
19:00

30 October 2018 (2018-10-30)	Tranmere Rovers	0–1	Manchester City U21s	Prenton Park
19:00

13 November 2018 (2018-11-13)	Crewe Alexandra	1–2	Shrewsbury Town	Gresty Road
19:30

Group E

Pos	Lge	Team	Pld	W	PW	PL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1		[[]]	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Round 2
2		[[]]	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
3		[[]]	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
4		[[]]	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

4 September 2018 (2018-09-04)	Burton Albion	1–2	Walsall	Pirelli Stadium
19:45	Harness  89'	Report	Morris  9' Gordon  28'	Attendance: 724 Referee: Rob Lewis

9 October 2018 (2018-10-09)	Walsall	3–1	Middlesbrough U21s	Bescot Stadium
19:00

9 October 2018 (2018-10-09)	Port Vale	1–0	Burton Albion	Vale Park
19:45

16 October 2018 (2018-10-16)	Port Vale	2–0	Middlesbrough U21s	Vale Park
19:45

7 November 2018 (2018-11-07)	Burton Albion	0–1	Middlesbrough U21s	Pirelli Stadium
19:00

13 November 2018 (2018-11-13)	Walsall	1–2	Port Vale	Bescot Stadium
19:00

Group F

Pos	Lge	Team	Pld	W	PW	PL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1		[[]]	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Round 2
2		[[]]	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
3		[[]]	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
4		[[]]	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

4 September 2018 (2018-09-04)	Oldham Athletic	1–2	Barnsley	Boundary Park
19:30	Surridge  31'	Report	Adeboyejo  44' Moncur  82'	Attendance: 1,786 Referee: Seb Stockbridge

25 September 2018 (2018-09-25)	Bradford City	1–1 (6–5 pen)	Everton U21s	Valley Parade
19:30	Miller  90+2'		Sambou  79'	Attendance: 902
		Penalties

9 October 2018 (2018-10-09)	Bradford City	1–4	Oldham Athletic	Valley Parade
19:30

30 October 2018 (2018-10-30)	Oldham Athletic	3–2	Everton U21s	Boundary Park
19:30

6 November 2018 (2018-11-06)	Barnsley	1–1 (4–2 pen)	Everton U21s	Oakwell
19:30
		Penalties
	4		2

13 November 2018 (2018-11-13)	Barnsley	2–1	Bradford City	Oakwell
19:30

Group G

Pos	Lge	Team	Pld	W	PW	PL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1		[[]]	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Round 2
2		[[]]	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
3		[[]]	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
4		[[]]	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

4 September 2018 (2018-09-04)	Doncaster Rovers	1–3	Newcastle United U21s	Keepmoat Stadium
19:00	Marquis  45+7'	Report	Allan  14' Roberts  65' Sørensen  86'	Attendance: 1,544 Referee: Matt Donohue

4 September 2018 (2018-09-04)	Grimsby Town	2–1	Notts County	Blundell Park
19:45	M. Rose  69' (pen.) Hessenthaler  88'	Report	Alessandra  12'	Attendance: 746 Referee: Tom Nield

9 October 2018 (2018-10-09)	Doncaster Rovers	2–0	Grimsby Town	Keepmoat Stadium
19:30

9 October 2018 (2018-10-09)	Notts County	0–2	Newcastle United U21s	Meadow Lane
19:45

13 November 2018 (2018-11-13)	Grimsby Town	2–3	Newcastle United U21s	Blundell Park
19:45

14 November 2018 (2018-11-14)	Notts County	4–2	Doncaster Rovers	Meadow Lane
19:45

Group H

Pos	Lge	Team	Pld	W	PW	PL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1		[[]]	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Round 2
2		[[]]	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
3		[[]]	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
4		[[]]	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

4 September 2018 (2018-09-04)	Lincoln City	1–2	Mansfield Town	Sincil Bank
19:45				Attendance: 4,205

4 September 2018 (2018-09-04)	Scunthorpe United	0–0 (4–2 pen)	Wolverhampton Wanderers U21s	Glanford Park
19:45				Attendance: 874
		Penalties
	4		2

9 October 2018 (2018-10-09)	Mansfield Town	2–1	Wolverhampton Wanderers U21s	Field Mill
19:45

9 October 2018 (2018-10-09)	Scunthorpe United	1–1 (1–3 pen)	Lincoln City	Glanford Park
19:45
		Penalties
	1		3

6 November 2018 (2018-11-06)	Lincoln City	2–2 (4–5 pen)	Wolverhampton Wanderers U21s	Sincil Bank
19:45
		Penalties
	4		5

13 November 2018 (2018-11-13)	Mansfield Town	3–2	Scunthorpe United	Field Mill
19:45

Southern Section

Group A

Pos	Lge	Team	Pld	W	PW	PL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	L1	Portsmouth	3	3	0	0	0	8	2	+6	9	Advance to Round 2
2	ACA	Tottenham Hotspur U21	3	1	0	1	1	7	4	+3	4
3	L1	Gillingham	3	1	0	0	2	2	9	-7	3
4	L2	Crawley Town	3	0	1	0	2	2	4	-2	2

4 September 2018 (2018-09-04)	Crawley Town	1–1 (5–3 pen)	Tottenham Hotspur U21s	Broadfield Stadium
19:45				Attendance: 1,403
		Penalties
	5		3

4 September 2018 (2018-09-04)	Portsmouth	4–0	Gillingham	Fratton Park
19:45				Attendance: 2,011

9 October 2018 (2018-10-09)	Crawley Town	0–1	Portsmouth	Broadfield Stadium
19:45

9 October 2018 (2018-10-09)	Gillingham	0–4	Tottenham Hotspur U21s	The Valley
19:45

13 November 2018 (2018-11-13)	Gillingham	2–1	Crawley Town	Priestfield Stadium
19:45

13 November 2018 (2018-11-13)	Portsmouth	3–2	Tottenham Hotspur U21s	Fratton Park
19:45

Group B

Pos	Lge	Team	Pld	W	PW	PL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	L2	Cambridge United	3	2	0	0	1	8	4	+4	6	Round 2
2	L1	Southend United	3	2	0	0	1	6	3	+3	6
3	L2	Colchester United	3	1	0	0	2	3	4	–1	3
4	ACA	Southampton U21s	3	1	0	0	2	2	7	–5	3

4 September 2018 (2018-09-04)	Southend United	3–1	Cambridge United	Roots Hall
19:45				Attendance: 1,421

9 October 2018 (2018-10-09)	Cambridge United	4–0	Southampton U21s	Abbey Stadium
19:00

9 October 2018 (2018-10-09)	Colchester United	2–0	Southend United	Colchester Community Stadium
19:45

13 November 2018 (2018-11-13)	Cambridge United	3–1	Colchester United	Abbey Stadium
19:00

14 November 2018 (2018-11-14)	Southend United	3–0	Southampton U21s	Roots Hall
19:45

Group C

Pos	Lge	Team	Pld	W	PW	PL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	ACA	Chelsea U21s	3	2	0	0	1	9	3	+6	6	Round 2
2	L2	Newport County	3	2	0	0	1	5	1	+4	6
3	L2	Swindon Town	3	2	0	0	1	4	4	0	6
4	L1	Plymouth Argyle	3	0	0	0	3	0	10	–10	0

7 August 2018 (2018-08-07)	Swindon Town	0–4	Chelsea U21s	County Ground
19:45			Brown (2) Musonda Ugbo	Attendance: 1,569

11 September 2018 (2018-09-11)	Swindon Town	1–0	Newport County	County Ground
19:45				Attendance: 1,301

25 September 2018 (2018-09-25)	Newport County	3–0	Chelsea U21s	Rodney Parade
19:45	Matt (2) Semenyo			Attendance: 1,525

9 October 2018 (2018-10-09)	Plymouth Argyle	0–3	Swindon Town	Home Park
19:30

30 October 2018 (2018-10-30)	Plymouth Argyle	0–5	Chelsea U21s	Home Park
19:30

13 November 2018 (2018-11-13)	Newport County	2–0	Plymouth Argyle	Rodney Parade
19:45

Group D

Pos	Lge	Team	Pld	W	PW	PL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	L2	Exeter City	3	2	1	0	0	4	0	+4	8	Round 2
2	L1	Bristol Rovers	3	2	0	0	1	4	2	+2	6
3	L2	Yeovil Town	3	1	0	1	1	4	2	+2	4
4	ACA	West Ham United U21s	3	0	0	0	3	0	8	–8	0

4 September 2018 (2018-09-04)	Yeovil Town	0–0 (3–4 pen)	Exeter City	Huish Park
19:45 BST		Report		Attendance: 1,518 Referee: Trevor Kettle
		Penalties
	Jaiyesimi Olomola Dickinson Pattison Patrick		Jay Collins Ogbene Abrahams Sparkes

18 September 2018 (2018-09-18)	Bristol Rovers	2–0	West Ham United U21s	Memorial Stadium
19:45 BST				Attendance: 1,021

25 September 2018 (2018-09-25)	Exeter City	2–0	West Ham United U21s	St James Park
19:45 BST	Forte (2)			Attendance: 1,114

9 October 2018 (2018-10-09)	Bristol Rovers	2–0	Yeovil Town	Memorial Stadium
19:45 BST

6 November 2018 (2018-11-06)	Yeovil Town	4–0	West Ham United U21s	Huish Park
19:45 GMT

13 November 2018 (2018-11-13)	Exeter City	2–0	Bristol Rovers	St James Park
19:45 GMT

Group E

Pos	Lge	Team	Pld	W	PW	PL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1		[[]]	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Round 2
2		[[]]	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
3		[[]]	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
4		[[]]	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

4 September 2018 (2018-09-04)	Forest Green Rovers	4–0	Cheltenham Town	The New Lawn
19:30 BST	Grubb  14' Campbell  48' Williams  85' Pearce  90'	Report		Attendance: 1,074 Referee: Lee Swabey

12 September 2018 (2018-09-12)	Coventry City	0–3	Arsenal U21s	Ricoh Arena
19:45		Report	Smith Rowe  4' Nketiah  77' Willock  90'	Attendance: 2,375

9 October 2018 (2018-10-09)	Coventry City	1–1 (4–2 pen)	Forest Green Rovers	Ricoh Arena
19:45
		Penalties
	4		2

30 October 2018 (2018-10-30)	Cheltenham Town	6–2	Arsenal U21s	Whaddon Road
19:45

7 November 2018 (2018-11-07)	Forest Green Rovers	1–3	Arsenal U21s	The New Lawn
19:00

13 November 2018 (2018-11-13)	Cheltenham Town	2–0	Coventry City	Whaddon Road
19:45

Group F

Pos	Lge	Team	Pld	W	PW	PL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1		[[]]	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Round 2
2		[[]]	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
3		[[]]	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
4		[[]]	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

4 September 2018 (2018-09-04)	Northampton Town	0–1	Wycombe Wanderers	Sixfields Stadium
19:45			Kashket  11'	Attendance: 1,053

4 September 2018 (2018-09-04)	Oxford United	3–0	Fulham U21s	Kassam Stadium
19:45	Smith  31' Holmes  58' Spasov  58' (pen)		Stahl  50'	Attendance: 1,116

18 September 2018 (2018-09-18)	Wycombe Wanderers	2–1	Fulham U21s	Adams Park
19:45				Attendance: 595

9 October 2018 (2018-10-09)	Oxford United	1–2	Northampton Town	Kassam Stadium
19:45

6 November 2018 (2018-11-06)	Northampton Town	2–0	Fulham U21s	Sixfields Stadium
19:45

6 November 2018 (2018-11-06)	Wycombe Wanderers	0–3	Oxford United	Adams Park
19:45

Group G

Pos	Lge	Team	Pld	W	PW	PL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1		[[]]	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Round 2
2		[[]]	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
3		[[]]	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
4		[[]]	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

28 August 2018 (2018-08-28)	Stevenage	5–0	Swansea City U21s	Broadhall Way
19:45				Attendance: 470

4 September 2018 (2018-09-04)	Charlton Athletic	2–2 (2–4 pen)	AFC Wimbledon	The Valley
19:45 BST	Sarr  43' Mascoll  84'	Report	Hartigan  27' Soares  49'	Attendance: 1,244 Referee: K. Johnson
		Penalties
	Ajose Morgan Lapslie Hackett-Fairchild		Appiah Hartigan Pinnock Hanson

18 September 2018 (2018-09-18)	AFC Wimbledon	0–1	Swansea City U21s	Kingsmeadow
19:45				Attendance: 306

9 October 2018 (2018-10-09)	Stevenage	0–8	Charlton Athletic	Stevenage
19:45 BST		Report	Pratley  25' Stevenson  27', 59', 74' (Pen.) Ajose  34' Vetokele  48', 58' Lapslie  87'	Stadium: Broadhall Way Attendance: 793 Referee: L. Swabey

6 November 2018 (2018-11-06)	AFC Wimbledon	4–0	Stevenage	Kingsmeadow
19:45

13 November 2018 (2018-11-13)	Charlton Athletic	0–1	Swansea City U21s	Charlton
19:45 GMT		Report	Marić  55'	Stadium: The Valley Attendance: 740 Referee: C. Breakspear

Group H

Pos	Lge	Team	Pld	W	PW	PL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1		[[]]	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Round 2
2		[[]]	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
3		[[]]	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
4		[[]]	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

4 September 2018 (2018-09-04)	Luton Town	2–1	Brighton & Hove Albion U21s	Kenilworth Road
19:45	Jarvis  5' Grant  79'	Report	Connolly  86'	Attendance: 1,318 Referee: John Busby

4 September 2018 (2018-09-04)	Milton Keynes Dons	3–3 (6–5 pen)	Peterborough United	Stadium MK
19:45	Aneke  6', 45+1' Healey  33'	Report	Cooper  56' Walker  87' Godden  90'	Attendance: 2,404 Referee: Brett Huxtable
		Penalties

9 October 2018 (2018-10-09)	Luton Town	3–0	Milton Keynes Dons	Kenilworth Road
19:45	Sheehan  17' Lualua  29' Grant  60'			Attendance: 875 (208 away) Referee: Craig Hicks

9 October 2018 (2018-10-09)	Peterborough United	2–2 (4–5 pen)	Brighton & Hove Albion U21s	ABAX Stadium
19:45
		Penalties
	4		5

13 November 2018 (2018-11-13)	Milton Keynes Dons	2–3	Brighton & Hove Albion U21s	Stadium MK
19:45	Agard  6' Hancox  41'		Connolly  23', 69', 76'	Attendance: 1,018 (63 Away)

13 November 2018 (2018-11-13)	Peterborough United	2–1	Luton Town	ABAX Stadium
19:45

Knockout Stage

Round 2

The round 2 draw took place on 16 November with ties due to be played from the week beginning 3 December. Teams were drawn in a regionalised format, with the proviso that no teams from the same Group Stage group can meet. To ensure this, group winners from groups A to D were drawn against group runners-up from groups E to H in the same section, and vice versa. Teams listed 1st are at home and won their group in Round 1.

If scores are level after 90 minutes in Rounds 2, 3, and 4, the game will be determined by the taking of penalties.

Northern Section

4 December 2018	Newcastle United U21s (ACA)	1–1 (5–3 pen)	Macclesfield Town (L2)	Newcastle upon Tyne
19:00				Stadium: St James Park Attendance: 1126 Referee: Ben Toner
		Penalties

4 December 2018	Barnsley (L1)	3–3 (3–5 pen)	Manchester City U21s (ACA)	Barnsley
19:30				Stadium: Oakwell Attendance: 3,070
		Penalties

4 December 2018	Accrington Stanley (L1)	2–2 (4–2 pen)	Lincoln City (L2)	Accrington
19:45				Stadium: Wham Stadium Attendance: 746 (154 away) Referee: Anthony Backhouse
		Penalties

4 December 2018	Mansfield Town (L2)	0–1	Bury (L2)	Mansfield
19:45				Stadium: One Call Stadium Attendance: 1,029 (27 away) Referee: Robert Lewis

4 December 2018	Port Vale (L2)	4–0	Stoke City U21s (ACA)	Stoke-on-Trent
19:45				Stadium: Vale Park Attendance: 7,940 Referee: Sebastien Stockbridge

4 December 2018	Sunderland (L1)	2–0	Notts County (L2)	Sunderland
19:45	Jones  22' (o.g.) Sinclair  73' (pen.)	Report		Stadium: Stadium of Light Attendance: 8,580 Referee: Graham Salisbury

11 December 2018	Rochdale (L1)	2–0	Oldham Athletic (L2)	Rochdale
				Stadium: Spotland Stadium

5 December 2018	Shrewsbury Town (L1)	2–1	Walsall (L1)	Shrewsbury
19:45	Gillied  24' Loft  72'			Stadium: New Meadow Attendance: 1857 (239 Away) Referee: Peter Wright

Southern Section

4 December 2018	Chelsea U21s (ACA)	2–1	AFC Wimbledon (L1)	London
19:00				Stadium: Stamford Bridge

4 December 2018	Exeter City (L2)	0–2	Peterborough United (L1)	Exeter
19:15				Stadium: St James Park

4 December 2018	Cambridge United (L2)	1–1 (2–4 pen)	Northampton Town (L2)	Cambridge
19:45				Stadium: Abbey Stadium
		Penalties

4 December 2018	Cheltenham Town (L2)	1–1 (7–6 pen)	Newport County (L2)	Cheltenham
19:45				Stadium: Whaddon Road
		Penalties

4 December 2018	Portsmouth (L1)	2–1	Arsenal U21s (ACA)	Portsmouth
19:45				Stadium: Fratton Park

5 December 2018	Luton Town (L1)	1–1 (2–4 pen)	Southend United (L1)	Luton
19:45				Stadium: Kenilworth Road
		Penalties

5 December 2018	Swansea City U21s (ACA)	1–2	Bristol Rovers (L1)	Swansea
19:45				Stadium: Liberty Stadium

18 December 2018	Oxford United (L1)	3–0	Tottenham Hotspur U21s (ACA)	Oxford
19:45				Stadium: Kassam Stadium

Round 3

The draw for round 3 was held on Saturday, 8 December. Northern and Southern section teams were still segregated this round and will be brought together in the next round (the quarter-finals). No seeding is used from this point: all teams within their denoted section are in a blind draw.

Northern Section

8 January 2019	Rochdale (L1)	2–4	Manchester City U21s (ACA)	Rochdale
	McNulty  4' Dooley  29'		Bolton  50' Braaf  67', 82' Richards  84'	Stadium: Spotland Stadium Attendance: 2,176

8 January 2019	Sunderland (L1)	4–0	Newcastle United U21s (ACA)	Sunderland
19:45	Watts  49' (o.g.) Wyke  52' Maguire  78' Kimpioka  86'	Report		Stadium: Stadium of Light Attendance: 16,654 Referee: Tony Harrington

8 January 2019	Accrington Stanley (L1)	2–4	Bury (L2)	Accrington
	Clark  10' Kee  38'		Telford  55', 74' Maynard  57' Mayor  84'	Stadium: Crown Ground Attendance: 1,136

8 January 2019	Port Vale (L2)	1–1 (4–3 pen)	Shrewsbury Town (L1)	Stoke-on-Trent
	Pope  83'		Sears  63'	Stadium: Vale Park Attendance: 1,355
		Penalties
	Oyeleke Miller Pope Kay Hannant		Okenabirhie Gilliead Angol Eisa Barnett

Southern Section

8 January 2019	Southend United (L1)	0–2	Portsmouth (L1)	Southend-on-Sea
			Dennis  2' Evans  45+1'	Stadium: Roots Hall

8 January 2019	Cheltenham Town (L2)	1–1 (1–4 pen)	Oxford United (L1)	Cheltenham
	Dawson  64'		Brannagan  45+1'	Stadium: Whaddon Road
		Penalties
	Thomas Clements Hussey		Mousinho Henry Graham Brannagan

8 January 2019	Northampton Town (L2)	1–2	Bristol Rovers (L1)	Northampton
	Crooks  76'		Broadbent  45' Payne  58'	Stadium: Sixfields Stadium

9 January 2019	Chelsea U21s (ACA)	1–3	Peterborough United (L1)	London
	Nartey  45'		Dembélé  65' Toney  72' Maddison  74'	Stadium: Stamford Bridge

Round 4 / Quarter-finals

Quarter-final pairings are determined by means of an unseeded draw. There are no further segregated sections of the draw.

22 January 2019	Portsmouth (L1)	1–0	Peterborough United (L1)	Portsmouth
19:00	Wheeler  85'	Report		Stadium: Fratton Park Attendance: 3,313

22 January 2019	Bristol Rovers (L1)	3–0	Port Vale (L2)	Bristol
19:45	Clarke  16' Nichols  62' (pen.) Rodman  68'	Report		Stadium: Memorial Stadium Attendance: 2,016

22 January 2019	Bury (L2)	5–2	Oxford United (L1)	Bury
19:45	Telford  16' Thompson  26' Moore  41' Mayor  55', 76'	Report	Henry  24' (pen.) Carruthers  51'	Stadium: Gigg Lane Attendance: 1,238

22 January 2019	Sunderland (L1)	2–0	Manchester City U21s (ACA)	Sunderland
19:45	Watmore  22' Gooch  65'	Report		Stadium: Stadium of Light Attendance: 14,679 Referee: Michael Salisbury

Semi-finals

The four winners from the quarter-finals will contest the semi-finals, with the pairings determined by an unseeded draw. Matches will be played as one leg, and will advance directly to penalties if the teams are tied after 90 minutes.

26 February 2019	Bury (L2)	0–3	Portsmouth (L1)	Bury
19:45			Evans  61' Hawkins  64' Curtis  77'	Stadium: Gigg Lane Attendance: 3,900

5 March 2019	Bristol Rovers (L1)	0–2	Sunderland (L1)	Bristol
19:45			Grigg  44' Morgan  47'	Stadium: Memorial Stadium Attendance: 6,699

Final

Main article: 2019 EFL Trophy Final

The two winners from the semi-finals, Portsmouth and Sunderland, contested the final on 31 March 2019. Portsmouth won 5–4 on penalties following a 2–2 draw after extra time to win their first EFL trophy.

31 March 2019	Portsmouth (L1)	2–2 (5–4 pen)	Sunderland (L1)	London
14:30 BST	Thompson  82' Lowe  114'	Report	McGeady  38', 119'	Stadium: Wembley Stadium Attendance: 85,021 Referee: Dean Whitestone
		Penalties
	Evans Pitman Brown Lowe Hawkins		McGeady Cattermole Gooch Power O'Nien

External links

• Official website