Bristol City's youngsters proved they are going to be a force to be reckoned with this season once again with a dominant 4-2 victory over Hull.
The hosts deservedly took the lead through Harry Leeson when won the foot race with keeper Tom Macauley after latching onto Dyan Kadji's pass after 18 minutes. The Robins were comfortable for 30 minutes but somehow found themselves behind in the blink of an eye.
Josh Hinds found space on the right side of the box and flashed a great finish across Harvey Wiles-Richards to equalise before Harry Wood fired a sensational volley into the top corner just three minutes later.
Two changes at half-time saw Seb Palmer-Houlden and Tommy Backwell come onto the field and the duo made an instant impact as City dominated the second period. Jamie Knight-Lebel headed City level on 55 minutes before Palmer-Houlden lashed an effort into the top corner to give the Robins the lead.
Fellow substitute Backwell then ensured the three points when he pulled off a Cruyff turn inside the area before firing beyond the keeper. That's two wins in two for City after last week's victory over Barnsley and here's the three standout performers of the contest.
Dylan Kadji
The midfielder is arguably the closest youth player to the first time having featured in the matchday squad in the cup victory over Coventry.
For the first 25 minutes, he was unplayable as he dominated the play and provided the link between midfield and attack with a handful of breaking runs through the lines. He did have to restrain himself in the challenge after picking up a booking in the early stages for a late challenge in midfield.
Kadji's energy left Hull's midfield with little time on the ball, especially against Harry Wallis who could barely get himself into the game in the first half. Without being tightly marked, Kadji had time and space to dictate the play and the first real danger of his attacking presence came on 20 minutes when he burst through the midfield before his tame strike was saved to the keeper's left.
Just minutes later and it was a carbon-copy run with time and space to break forward. This time he picked out the run of Harry Leeson who somewhat fortuitously opened the scoring when his tackle on the keeper hit the inside of the post and snuck over the line.
In the second half he sat slightly deeper with Tommy Backwell playing further upfield and Josh Owers coming over to play at left wing-back before being replaced by Joe Porton.
James Morton
A player whose future perhaps won't be at Bristol City for much longer after Nigel Pearson confirmed he needs to be playing first-team football for his own development. He was recently on trial at Notts County but nothing came of the potential move.
With loan spells already under his belt at Forest Green Rovers, Grimsby Town and Gillingham it's evident he has the quality to be playing in the Football League at some level.
Playing alongside Ben Acey behind the striker Marley Rose, Morton's range of passing was the standout attribute of his game. He was also lethal on the dead ball situation with Hull struggling to deal with his in-swinging corners with his left foot.
As City's dominance faded at the end of the first half, so did Morton's influence but he came back into life in the second as City dominated proceedings. Seb Palmer-Holden's introduction helped provide an out ball going forward and Morton saw more of the ball able to influence proceedings in the final third.
His pace was also a concern for Hull's defence as he looked to break the lines beyond Marley Rose, often beating his man in a foot race.
Seb Palmer-Houlden
A half-time substitution, the tall striker completely changed the game and provided City with an outlet going forward. Coming off the back of two goals against Barnsley last week, Palmer-Holden's confidence was on show which was evident with his brilliant finish to score City's third.
A ball played across the goal was fired first time by the striker who opened up his body and curled one beyond the keeper and into the top right corner of the net. His celebration was equally as impressive after attempting a gambol down by the corner flag.
However, it was his overall gameplay that proved to be a real handful for Hull's defence. He immediately went close when his powerful effort on the edge of the area stung the palms of the keeper before seeing a strike blocked by the Hull defender after creating a yard of space for himself.
On another occasion, he showed his pace and skill to beat his man on the left and get to the byline before seeing a dangerous cross turned behind. That's without mentioning his obvious aerial threat which proved very effective from Wiles-Richards' long kicks up field.
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