Brighton booked their place in the third round of the Carabao Cup with a 2-0 win at Cardiff.
Jakub Moder and Andi Zeqiri scored their maiden goals for the Seagulls as Graham Potter’s faith in youth was wonderfully rewarded.
Potter made 11 changes from the side which beat Watford 2-0 in the Premier League on Saturday, with every outfield player aged 23 or under.
While Brighton boasted an average age of 21, Cardiff manager Mick McCarthy plumped for a mixture of experience and youth on the back of an unbeaten start in the Sky Bet Championship.
Cardiff’s defence was split as early as the ninth minute by Enoch Mwepu’s measured pass and Poland international Moder strode clear to finish decisively under the body of Alex Smithies.
Perry Ng replied with a shot deflected on to the roof of Brighton net, but the Seagulls should have been out of sight by the 20-minute mark.
Haydon Roberts released Zeqiri and the Swiss striker sent his one-on-one opportunity wide of the far post.
Taylor Richards also blazed an effort over after more good work from the talented Mwepu before Cardiff lost captain Sean Morrison.
The central defender overstretched for a ball near the touchline and was eventually forced off after attempting to continue for several minutes.
Zeqiri doubled Brighton’s lead 10 minutes into the second half after impressive midfield pairing Richards and Moises Caicedo combined to devastating effect.
Caicedo was off balance as he approached the penalty area but he stayed on his feet to lay the ball into the path of Zeqiri, who swept home in style.
Cardiff almost reduced the deficit when James Collins met Josh Murphy’s cross, the striker’s downhead header hitting the turf so hard it bounced up on to the crossbar.
Teenager Marc Leonard forced a close-range save from Smithies before Steele protected his clean sheet with excellent stops from Aden Flint and Josh Murphy.
