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The assured 19-year-old exuded calmness and belief to remind Exeter manager Matt Taylor of his defensive prowess. Superb against Bristol Rovers and West Ham, O’Shea was the dominant figure at the back as Exeter progressed to round two of the competition without conceding a single goal in all three games.

 

The defender, who is on-loan from Sky Bet Championship side West Bromwich Albion, expressed his delight at being recognised for his performances;

“It is nice to be recognised for your good performances and qualifying for the next round of the competition as well,” he said.

“I think as a team we have defended really well, we have shown that in terms of the results and we have kept three clean sheets during the group stages. 

“It was a collective performance but as a defender you are there to keep clean sheets and that’s our main focus, the forward lads contribute towards the goals and as a defensive unit, we contribute towards the clean sheets so I’m really pleased.” 

O’Shea also stated that the competition has so far provided him with invaluable experience in senior football, preparing him well for league football when called upon. 

"I think the Checkatrade Trophy is great for the young players in the squad. I actually played in the competition for West Brom a few seasons ago and it is great for players who are on the fringes of the first-team being given that chance,” he said.

"It's given me a fantastic opportunity to continue getting first team experience and this is a competition the club has high hopes for. We’ve got another tough fixture ahead against Peterborough in our first knockout game but we’re in good form in this competition so we’re confident we can get a positive result.” 

“These are the sort of games that you want to play in, you are playing against men and when you are thrown in at the deep end you are ready for those games because of this competition. 

“I've grown a lot this season, picking up bits every day in training and learning everyday. That's the main reason why I came here on-loan.”

O’Shea was joined on the shortlist by other standout performers in the Checkatrade Trophy;

 

Ade Azeez (Cambridge United)

Calum Butcher (Mansfield Town)

Aaron Connolly (Brighton & Hove Albion)

Luke Matheson (Rochdale)

Toby Stevenson (Charlton Athletic) 

Matches taking place in this season’s Checkatrade Trophy are being broadcast to fans in the UK and overseas via the EFL’s live streaming platform, iFollow. 

It means that fans at home and abroad will be able to watch their team live on screen no matter where they are based, with all ties up until the conclusion of the Quarter-Finals scheduled to be streamed online. The Semi-Finals and Final will then be screened live on Sky Sports.

For more details, visit: www.efl.com/iFollow/subscribe