Signing off.....
That brings me to the end of this match coverage here on VAVEL.com I've been Louis Bent.
Implications of that result
A win on penalties for Cheltenham after Christian Norton dispatched from the spot to seal the shoot-out win for the Robins, but they still remain bottom of Group E.
However, it was Chelsea's youngsters who had the better chances throughout the game, with plenty of chances going their way.
Charlie Webster had opportunities to seal the game for the Blues but couldn't slot home, however, until Exeter play Bristol Rovers they remain top of Group E.
PENALTY SHOOTOUT - Cheltenham Town 5-4 Chelsea Under 21's
Haigh dispatches but it's not enough.
Norton rolls the ball past Wady to win the shootout for Cheltenham.
5-4
PENALTY SHOOTOUT - Cheltenham Town 4-3 Chelsea Under 21's
Xavier Mbuyamba goes straight down the middle to beat the 'keeper.
Zac Guinan calmly rolls the ball past Wady.
4-3 to the Robins.
PENALTY SHOOTOUT - Cheltenham Town 3-2 Chelsea Under 21's
Lewis Baker strikes only to be denied by Owen Evans.
Alfie May dispatches high into the roof of the net.
Advantage Cheltenham. 3-2
PENALTY SHOOTOUT - Cheltenham Town 2-2 Chelsea Under 21's
Jayden Wareham dispatches sending Evans the wrong way.
Felix Miles scores for the Robins.
2-2
PENALTY SHOOTOUT - Cheltenham Town 1-1 Chelsea Under 21's
George Nunn calmly slots home for the Blues.
Ellis Chapman strikes into the bottom left corner for the Robins.
1-1
PLAYER OF THE MATCH - Xavier Mbuyamba
Although Felix Miles has glided through the midfield well throughout the game for the Robins. The Man of the Match award must go to Xavier Mbuyemba who has displayed calm and assurance whilst dealing with a serious Robins aerial threat. A big future ahead for this lad.
FULL TIME - Cheltenham Town 0-0 Chelsea Under 21's
FULL TIME - We're heading for penalties here at the Jonny-Rocks Stadium after both sides live to rue missed opportunities.
SUB - Cheltenham Town 0-0 Chelsea Under 21's
90+2 - Connor Jakeways ON - Joe Hunt OFF
FOUR MINUTES ADDED ON - Cheltenham Town 0-0 Chelsea Under 21's
90' - The fourth official has added on four minutes of additional time.
This game will go to penalties if it remains a draw.
YELLOW CARD - Cheltenham Town 0-0 Chelsea Under 21's
89' - Alfie May goes into the book for a cynical foul.
SUB - Cheltenham Town 0-0 Chelsea Under 21's
88' - Zac Guinan ON - Andy Williams OFF
GREAT CHALLENGE - Cheltenham Town 0-0 Chelsea Under 21's
87' - Josh Brooking makes a sublime last-ditch challenge to deny Christian Norton a one-on-one chance.
SUB - Cheltenham Town 0-0 Chelsea Under 21's
81' - Silko Thomas ON - Edwin Andersson OFF
CHANCE - Cheltenham Town 0-0 Chelsea Under 21's
78' - May flashes a volley wide from the edge of the box.
YELLOW CARD - Cheltenham Town 0-0 Chelsea Under 21's
76' - George McEachran becomes the second player to be yellow-carded for the Blues.
YELLOW CARD - Cheltenham Town 0-0 Chelsea Under 21's
70' - Xavier Simon booked, the Blues captain enters the referee's book.
DOUBLE CHANGE - Cheltenham Town 0-0 Chelsea Under 21's
66' - Double Chelsea change
Jayden Wareham ON - Jude Soonsup-Bell OFF
Joe Haigh ON - Charlie Webster OFF
BIG SAVE - Cheltenham Town 0-0 Chelsea Under 21's
64' - An Armitage header is saved from close range by Wady following a corner.
CHANCE - Cheltenham Town 0-0 Chelsea Under 21's
62' - Lewis Baker flashes a free-kick wide of the Robins goal.
SUB - Cheltenham Town 0-0 Chelsea Under 21's
60' - The first substitution of the evening Conor Thomas off - Ellis Chapman on
BIG CHANCE - Cheltenham Town 0-0 Chelsea Under 21's
51' - Webster with his second guilt-edged opportunity of the game - all he needs is a goal to add to this complete performance.
SECOND HALF STARTS - Cheltenham Town 0-0 Chelsea Under 21's
Second half is up and running here at the Jonny Rocks Stadium.
Back out for the second half here at #CTFC - Still 0-0 👀👇🏼https://t.co/cpqqQJ5npA pic.twitter.com/TALKnQ1MbN
— Louis Bent (@louisbent_) October 26, 2021
A word for Xavier Mbuyamba
The 19-year-old has looked calm and assured in the centre-back position, despite marking a target-man striker in Andy Williams - big things to come from this enforcer at the back.
REACTION AT THE BREAK - Cheltenham Town 0-0 Chelsea Under 21's
HALF-TIME: Cheltenham Town 0 Chelsea Under-21s 0 #ctfc #PapaJohnsTrophy #ChelseaFC — Jon Palmer (@JonPalmerSport) October 26, 2021
⏱ All square at the interval
— Cheltenham Town (@CTFCofficial) October 26, 2021
🔴 0-0 🔵 #ctfc pic.twitter.com/n26qWTBm47
HT: @CTFCofficial 0-0 @ChelseaFC Under-21s pic.twitter.com/rSllqP8QrS
— Oliver Holmes (@Olii_holmes) October 26, 2021
Half time: 0-0 and not much to talk about.
— Tom Coley (@tomcoley49) October 26, 2021
Webster and McEachran looking sharp. Mbuyamba dominant. Nothing else really to go off so far.
HALF TIME - Cheltenham Town 0-0 Chelsea Under 21's
HALF TIME - All square at the break between Cheltenham Town and Chelsea Under 21's.
A good opening 25 minutes between these two sides, as it stands the Blues are heading into the knockout stages topping Southern Group E in the EFL Trophy.
CHANCE - Cheltenham Town 0-0 Chelsea Under 21's
43' - Charlie Webster has the floodgates opened for him by George McEachran but the number 71 fires well over on the cut-back.
CHANCE - Cheltenham Town 0-0 Chelsea Under 21's
41' - Soonsup-Bell makes a darting run down the side of the Cheltenham defence, his low shot again saved by Evans.
SAVE - Cheltenham Town 0-0 Chelsea Under 21's
29' - Charlie Webster has a low effort saved by Evans after the goalkeeper dropped the ball into the youngster's path.
CHANCE - Cheltenham Town 0-0 Chelsea Under 21's
22' - Dylan Barkers gives away the ball on the edge of his own area only for Jude Soonsup-Bell to strike straight at Owen Evans.
YELLOW CARD - Cheltenham Town 0-0 Chelsea Under 21's
18' - Lewis Freestone picks up the first yellow card of the evening for the Robins after striking the ball at Edwin Andersson whilst he was on the deck.
CHANCE - Cheltenham Town 0-0 Chelsea Under 21's
14' - May causes a nuisance down the left-hand side of the Chelsea defence but rolls a shot wide.
CHANCE - Cheltenham Town 0-0 Chelsea Under 21's
12' - Xavier Mbuyamba has a free header in the centre of the box but heads over, big chance for the Blues.
CHANCE - Cheltenham Town 0-0 Chelsea Under 21's
7' - Christian Norton heads just wide from a May corner for the Robins.
HANDBALL - Cheltenham Town 0-0 Chelsea
6' - Andy Williams turns and shoots the ball over for Cheltenham but is adjudged to have handballed it.
FIRST CHANCE! Cheltenham Town 0-0 Chelsea Under 21's
4' - A long-range Alfie May shot well saved by a full-stretch Ethan Wady.
- KICK OFF
We're off and away here at the Jonny Rocks Stadium
- Ready to go here
Teams are out and ready for tonight’s game 👇🏼https://t.co/cpqqQJ5npA#CTFC pic.twitter.com/RZSSEyMR9T — Louis Bent (@louisbent_) October 26, 2021
- Refereeing team for the evening
Referee - Alan Young
Assistants - Christopher Husband, Matthew Smith
Fourth Official - Declan O'Shea
- Ready for Action
In place here for this game between Cheltenham Town and Chelsea Under 21's - it's a great night for football here at the Jonny Rocks Stadium.
In place here at #CTFC for the EFL Trophy game between Cheltenham Town and Chelsea U21’s - you can follow live updates from me for the game over on @VAVEL_EFL 👇🏼https://t.co/cpqqQJ5npA pic.twitter.com/cN7hZxLFG2
— Louis Bent (@louisbent_) October 26, 2021
- Cheltenham Town - Starting Line-up
Evans, Hunt, Armitage, Horton, Freestone, Barkers, Thomas (c), Miles, May, Williams, Norton
Subs: Flinders, Pollock, Chapman, Jakeways, Clark, Skurek, Guinan
- Chelsea Under 21's - Starting Line-up
Wady, Brooking, Simons (c), Hughes, Mbuyamba, Nunn, Baker, McEachran, Webster, Andersson, Soonsup-Bell.
Subs: Bergström, Fiabema, Haigh, Rankine, Wareham, Thomas, Ryan.
#CFCDev: Wady, Brooking, Simons (c), Hughes, Mbuyamba, Nunn, Baker, McEachran, Webster, Andersson, Soonsup-Bell.
— Chelsea Youth (@chelseayouth) October 26, 2021
Subs: Bergström, Fiabema, Haigh, Rankine, Wareham, Thomas, Ryan. pic.twitter.com/DnJqIkpp0q
- Tune in here for Cheltenham Town vs Chelsea Under 21's
The EFL Trophy is reaching the conclusion of the group stage matches, which means the stakes have truly been raised as teams clamber to make it to the knockout stages.
This fixture between Cheltenham Town and Chelsea Under-21's is no exception to this, as the Blues will be looking to consolidate top spot in Southern Group E on Tuesday evening, meanwhile the Robins are unable to progress.
Tune in here on VAVEL.com for all the latest updates with me Louis Bent.
- What time does the game kick-off?
-UK BST Time : 19:00
- India: 11:30
- South Africa: 20:00
- Australia: 05:00
- Cheltenham Town vs Chelsea Under 21's - Prediction
Chelsea Under 21's are the only team here with something to play for, top-spot is on the line and I'll predict them to finish the group strongly with a 3-1 win against a potentially young Cheltenham side.
- How to Watch?
The game is available to watch live on Cheltenham Town's iFollow page after purchasing a match pass on the site, which includes live audio, video and also post-match highlights.
- Bryan Fiabema - One to Watch
Bryan Fiabema is widely seen as a big prospect within the Chelsea youth ranks, with the youngster bagging his first goal in the competition during the only appearance he's made so far against Bristol Rovers.
The Norway Under-18 international plays for the Under 21 and Under 23's outfits and has been in fine form for both, picking up three goals in his last three appearances for the Chelsea Under 23's.
The 18-year-old added to his tally again on Saturday in a 1-1 draw against Leicester City Under 23's.
- Felix Miles - One to Watch
Felix Miles bagged his first Cheltenham goal against Exeter City in the same competition after a calm finish.
The youth team prospect has been on loan at Evesham United after impressing during summer friendlies for the Robins.
The youngster is likely to pick up another valuable first-team appearance following a good performance in the previous round of EFL Trophy fixtures.
- Chelsea Under 21's - Form Guide
Although Chelsea's Under-21 side is mainly a development side for youngsters coming through the academy, Myers' outfit currently sit on top of Southern Group E after drawing and winning one.
The youngsters drew with Exeter City in their group opener but picked up the bonus point after winning that game on penalties.
Myers' side beat Bristol Rovers in their previous EFL Trophy encounter after a Lewis Baker winner secured all three points for the Blues.
- Cheltenham Town - Form Guide
The Robins will be looking to pick up their first win in the competition after suffering a draw but also losing in a shootout against Exeter City last time out at home.
Duff's side haven't impressed so far in the competition and due to injury issues within the first-team squad, they've found themselves heavily relying on youngsters in the competition, meaning they haven't been able to better last season's round two exit.
- Chelsea Under 21's - Predicted Line Up
(3-4-3) Sharman-Lowe, Brooking, Mbuyamba, Gilchrist, Rankine, Baker, Simons, Nunn, Webster, Vale, Fiabema
- Cheltenham Town - Predicted Line Up
(4-1-2-1-2) Evans, Horton, Armitage, Freestone, Hussey, Barkers, Miles, Bonds, Crowley, Norton, Williams
- Cheltenham Town - Team News
Cheltenham club captain Will Boyle had a setback on his road to recovery after tearing a ligament in the back of his ankle, the skipper will be out for four to six weeks.
Fellow centre-back Charlie Raglan also suffered a block on his return to the first-team squad, with manager Michael Duff stating that the former Oxford United and Port Vale man will need to see a specialist.
- Chelsea Under 21's - Team News
This Blues side have played a consistent line-up throughout the opening two group games and are mainly dependant on which personnel are involved in the first-team squad for the EFL Cup clash with Southampton.
It's likely that they'll be able to field a full-strength line-up, but with all players fit this could potentially cause headaches for manager Andy Myers.
- Chelsea Under 21's - Searching for Top Spot
The Blues' will be aiming to secure top spot in Southern Group E after a draw and a win so far in the group stage, it'll be interesting to see whether these young guns can overcome another challenge at senior level.
- Cheltenham Town - Unable to Progress
Michael Duff's Cheltenham Town can't progress through into the knockout round of the EFL Trophy here, but the boss will be looking to give some youngsters a chance tonight.
- This match will be played at the Jonny Rock's Stadium
The match will be played at the Jonny Rock's Stadium with a capacity of 7,066. Cheltenham Town have had mixed form at home in the league this season.
- Welcome to Our Coverage
Welcome to VAVEL.com’s coverage of the 2021 EFL Trophy match:
Cheltenham Town vs Chelsea Under 21's Live Updates!
My name is Louis Bent and I’ll be your host for this game. We will provide you with pre-game
analysis, score updates, and news as it happens live here on VAVEL...