Aston Villa U21s Set Penalty Shootout Record in Vertu Trophy Victory Over Blackpool

Aston Villa’s Under-21 team, now the last remaining Under-21 side in the Vertu Trophy, established a new English professional record on Tuesday for the most penalties taken in a shootout. They defeated Blackpool 18-17 in a marathon effort to advance in the competition. The second-round match concluded with a 1-1 scoreline after normal time, leading to an extensive penalty shootout to determine the winner. Following two misses among the initial five penalties in the shootout, an additional 33 spot-kicks were required to finalize the outcome. The decisive moment arrived with the 38th penalty, as Blackpool’s Jordan Lawrence-Gabriel struck the post. He had previously converted one penalty during the contest from 12 yards. Steve Bruce, the manager of Blackpool and a former Manchester United defender who has previously managed 11 clubs, including Villa, expressed his astonishment at the events at Bloomfield Road, which saw his League One team eliminated from the tournament. “I’ve been involved in a few of these, but I’ve never seen it go to 18-17,” he stated to BBC Radio Lancashire. He added, “We haven’t done enough against a young Aston Villa side. We should have had enough experience to see them off and we haven’t.” The shootout has been recorded as the longest in the professional game in England, an unprecedented event for many who witnessed it. In England, the overall record for a penalty shootout belongs to non-league teams Washington and Bedlington, who contested a 54-penalty shootout in an Ernest Armstrong Memorial Cup game in 2022. More recently, in September, Championship team Preston defeated Premier League club Fulham 16-15 in a Carabao Cup shootout involving 34 spot-kicks. The global record for a shootout is reportedly 56 penalties, set by Israeli teams SC Dimona and Shimshon Tel Aviv in May 2024 during a semi-final promotion play-off, where each side took 28 penalties before SC Dimona secured a 23-22 victory. In the match itself, Villa mounted a comeback to send the game to penalties. This occurred after 18-year-old midfielder Jamaldeen Jimoh-Aloba equalized, following Elliot Embleton’s goal that put the hosts ahead less than a minute into the second half. These goals, however, were overshadowed by the extraordinary nature of the night, which was ultimately decided by a shootout lasting almost half an hour. The shootout began with Kane Taylor converting Villa’s first penalty. Although Albie Morgan sent Blackpool’s second spot-kick wide, a subsequent save by Tangerines goalkeeper Richard O’Donnell from Aidan Borland’s penalty initiated the extensive contest, which was ultimately concluded by the ball hitting the post. Villa’s victory confirms their status as the last remaining Under-21 side in the English Football League competition. They are set to advance to face League Two side Bradford in the last 16. Peterborough United also progressed, securing a home fixture against Walsall following a 3-0 win over Northampton Town.