The first Papa John’s Trophy match between Nottingham Forest Under-21s and Harrogate Town ended in a defeat for them. Simon Weaver’s team defeated the Reds 2-1; Ateef Konate was having a strong game for Forest.
For the first time ever, Forest entered an under-21 team in the competition this season. Felipe and Callum Hudson-Odoi both fought for the Reds against the League Two team for an hour.
Konate, though, drew everyone’s attention. He participated in the entire 90 minutes of the game, and in the opening period, his well-executed shot just missed the top of the crossbar.
This season, the player was maintained at the City Ground, so possibly this contest was in mind. It was perhaps unexpected that the club didn’t find the 22-year-old a loan.
The player played for Oxford briefly while on loan there last year. However, he had trouble breaking into the lineup and appeared just five times for the League One squad.
However, Konate was more than at ease when up against League Two competition. A loan to that division in January may be helpful because Harrogate was having a rough time due to him.
But for the time being, he will have the opportunity to play a lot of games at the Under-21 level. In the Papa John’s Trophy, he will also hope to participate in at least two more games against Accrington and Carlisle.
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