After fighting back to earn a point against Liverpool, Justin Walker was happy with the overall performance of Derby County’s Under-18s on the opening day of the Premier League-North season.
The fixture, notably, served as Steven Gerrard’s first in charge of Liverpool’s Under-18s and it was his side that drew first blood in a cagey first 45 minutes, courtesy of a superb 41stminute header from Liam Coyle inside the box.
Following the break, Derby reacted in the perfect way and levelled-up the scoring after just six minutes of play through substitute Jack Stretton.
Holding on for a 1-1 draw until the end, Walker felt as though a point was the minimum that his side deserved.
Speaking to RamsTV after the game, the professional development phase coach offered his thoughts and said: “I thought we deserved a minimum of a point.
“We had a discussion at half time and we sorted one or two things out between the players.
“In the second half, I felt as though we came to terms with their shape because it was causing a few problems before the break.
“I thought that the players solved the problems pretty well in the second-half and we really did go on to gain the momentum in the game.
“Liverpool showed us that they’ve got some good players but so have we. I just feel that we lacked some self-belief and courage in the first half, but again, we put that right in the second half and I think we caused them a few problems.”
In a game regarded as one of two halves, Walker took time to speak of an opportunity that could have changed the course of the game during the first half.
On 14 minutes, first-year scholar Morgan Whittaker was brought down inside the box for a penalty, which the youngster, who pulled on the England Under-16 shirt back in April, later went on to miss.
But having missed the penalty, Walker urged Whittaker not to drop his head and said that it was all about how he picks himself up ahead of the next game.
Walker added: “Missing penalties are part of football.
“Morgan was brave. He grabbed the ball straight away and wanted to take it, which is always a positive sign.
“The next step for him was seeing how he reacted to missing it. You have to be big and brave in those situations and that’s what goalscorers are all about.
“I think in the first half after the penalty, it probably took the sting out of us a little bit and we lost a bit of courage to get on the ball.”