Jason Blunt hailed his “fantastic” Under-21s side after seeing them come from behind to beat Leicester City 2-1 in the Premier League Cup.

Harry Panayiotou had put the Foxes ahead in testing conditions at Nuneaton Town’s James Parnell Stadium, but Luke Parkin struck twice to seal the win and a last-16 tie away to Watford.

"From minute one I thought we were fantastic," said Blunt. "I thought we played the conditions well and I think we played some great football in poor conditions.

"We had a game plan. We always speak about game management and managing the first 20 minutes, winning the second ball.

"But we also recognise that although the weather was poor, we have a philosophy where we do try and get the ball down and play.

"I think that was evident all the way through the game. When we had an extra pass, we seemed to open them up at the right times."

Blunt’s youngsters fell behind on 59 minutes despite enjoying some good spells of play, but the coach felt his side’s perseverance would eventually pay off, with Parkin levelling 10 minutes later.

"We spoke about that," he said. "Although we went 1-0 down, we were quite confident that we would get back into the game the way we kept on going.

"I think that group has a composure about them where they do just carry on passing the ball and opportunities kept coming."

Blunt was also full of praise for 19-year-old striker Parkin, who took his Under-21s goal tally to five for the season.

"Parko worked his socks off, he pressed from minute one," said Blunt.

"He never gives up, he’s that type of character. He deserves all the credit he gets for both goals."

Chris Dawson was influential once again, skipping past a number of Leicester defenders before teeing up Parkin for the winner, and Blunt acknowledged his role in a pleasing all-round performance.

"We spoke about getting Daws on the ball because when he’s on it he definitely affects the group, the way he can twist and turn and create opportunities for us," said Blunt.

"It was a great team performance. Eric Grimes in goal was fantastic – he kept us in it with a great save.

"Zac Thompson and Jake Skelton I thought were really good at the back – they won the headers and managed the game well.

"Then I thought throughout the midfield, Casper Sloth was excellent, Alex Purver was a different class as well. I thought it was a great team performance."