Wolves U21s beat Burnley 2-0 in Premier League Cup opener

Wolves under-21s earned a 2-0 victory over Burnley in their opening match of the 2026/27 Premier League Cup. Conor McLeod scored both goals in the first half to secure the win for Rich Walker's side at Telford.

Wolves began the encounter with pressure, as Jerome Abbey missed an early opportunity by firing over the crossbar. Burnley responded with the first significant chance when Kian McMahon-Brown hit the bar with a header, followed closely by Oliver Pimlott's cross narrowly missing the far post.

McLeod opened the scoring in the 30th minute. After Jerome Abbey collected a defensive header from an Alfie Brooks goal-kick, he played the ball to McLeod on the right flank. McLeod cut inside and saw his shot deflect into the net. He doubled the lead ten minutes later with a corner kick that bypassed goalkeeper Lewis Forshaw at the near post.

Wolves missed a chance to increase their advantage before halftime when Dani Angel had a penalty saved by Forshaw after Minkyu Ji was fouled in the box. The second half saw Wolves maintain control, though Angel failed to convert a well-placed pass from Luke Rawlings. McLeod also missed a chance to complete a hat-trick with a shot from the edge of the area.

Burnley applied pressure late in the game, forcing Alfie Brooks to make two important saves to prevent a larger deficit. Wolves managed to defend their lead until the final whistle to claim their first three points of the new season.

Wolves lineup: Brooks, Okoduwa, Lochhead, Olagunju, White, Abbey, McLeod, Xu Bin, Rawlings, Ji, Angel. Substitutes: Arnold, Dayman, Nolan-Ruddock, Gonzalez, Ballard-Matthews, Anunlopo, Ashworth.

Burnley lineup: Forshaw, King, Pimlott, Stanley, Campbell, Brierley, Johnson, Clark, Jiaming, McMahon-Brown, Pouani.