Cambridge United head coach Neil Harris has welcomed the fact that his side will be at home in the last 32 of the Jersey Mike’s Trophy.

The U’s boss has made no secret of the fact that the competition is low down on his list of priorities this season.

Nevertheless, his side have been impressive in the group stages, winning all three of their fixtures, including last night’s 6-0 thrashing of Brighton & Hove Albion Under-21s.

And as group winners, it means United will be back at the Cledara Abbey Stadium when the knockout phase of the tournament kicks off early next month.

Harris said: “The league is the priority, followed by the FA Cup. This (Jersey Mike’s) is secondary, as always, but I think we’ve used it wisely so far with minutes in the legs.

“The lads have been extremely professional. I’m not saying we’ve been at our best in the games, but over the course of the three of them, we’ve been professional and deserved to win all three in the end.

“The most important thing is we’re through, and we’re at home next. That’s nice for us, whoever the opponent is. Whether it’s an Under-21 side or a League One or Two side, that’s pretty irrelevant to me. The fact we’re playing here (at the Abbey) means whatever the outcome of that game is, we haven’t got to travel.”

The clash with Brighton turned on the sending off of the visitors’ Ben Barclay late in the first half when the scoreline was locked at 0-0.

Up until that point, a much-changed Cambridge side had struggled to build any momentum in the contest.

Harris said: “I’m obviously delighted with the outcome and the result.

“The red card changed the game, because for 30 minutes, we looked like a team that had been thrown together this evening, which maybe it was!

“We didn’t find any rhythm with the ball, and fair play to Brighton, they pressed everything and came and played with a real energy that you’d expect from a young team. They wanted to beat us to get through to the next round.

“We didn’t quite handle the ball, and the press looked a bit naive. We made a few poor decisions, but then the red card changes the game.

“The second half was then one-way traffic, as I’d expect with us playing 11 versus 10. We did it here against Blackpool (a 1-0 win), and I actually think we played better against them than we did tonight.

“I feel sorry for Shannon’s (Ruth, Brighton coach) players because they had a right go, and the red card cost them. But you can’t feel sorry on the pitch, and you have to talk about numbers. At half-time, we said it was an opportunity for the players to score and create, and we certainly did that.”

A date for the draw for the last 32 is yet to be confirmed.