Derby County’s Under-23s secured their place in Premier League 2 – Division 1 for another season, despite Leicester City’s late comeback at the King Power Stadium.
A wonder-strike from Timi Max Elsnik put the Rams in-front in the first-half, but after Louie Sibley was sent off for a second bookable offence, the superb Harvey Barnes equalised with two minutes of normal time to play.
He went on to put his side ahead in added time, before Sam Hughes completed the scoring.
Nonetheless, this result - combined with Sunderland’s 1-0 defeat at Swansea City – ensures that Derby will be a part of the highest division in Under-23 football yet again next season.
Barnes produced the first effort on target from the hosts inside three minutes as he deftly connected to a cross with the outside of his right foot, but Jonathan Mitchell was there to produce a superb stop.
It proved to be crucial when Derby went up the other end six minutes later to take the lead with their first meaningful foray forward, and what a goal it was.
Elsnik picked the ball up 30 yards from goal and he took advantage of a Leicester midfield that were slow to close down, as he rifled a magnificent effort towards the top corner, with the ball bouncing off the post and in.
The home side responded with sustained periods of possession but they struggled to clear chances in the first-half. First-team defender Yohan Benalouane had half an opportunity to deliver after a corner fell to his feet, but he couldn’t direct towards goal.
Barnes was played in shortly before the break but he seemed to be put off by the Derby ‘keeper Mitchell, who sprinted out before retreating, and he made a comfortable save with his feet.
The Leicester No.10 continued to cause problems after the break and only a crucial touch from the excellent Joe Bateman kept his curling effort from nestling in the far bottom corner.
Alex Babos was on the periphery for large parts but he showed terrific speed and agility to go past Benalouane like he wasn’t even there on the hour mark, and after the route to goal closed off he found Cameron Cresswell, but the striker directed his header over the bar.
Barnes then let Derby off the hook when he planted a free header straight into the arms of Mitchell, before the Rams’ No.1 kept out a long-range strike from substitute Layton Ndukwu.
A major flashpoint changed the dynamic of the second half with 15 minutes to go, when Sibley was given his second yellow card after kicking the ball away.
The pressure built and Barnes finally got his goal when he tapped home on the line after another fine save from Mitchell, before he gave his side the lead with a neat volley in the first minute of stoppage time.
Hughes found the net to make it three soon after, but Derby achieved their ultimate goal and they will play in the Premier League 2 – Division 1 again in 2018/19.
Leicester City: Iversen; Johnson, Hughes, Benalouane, Wood; Dewsbury-Hall (Ndukwu, 58’), Choudhury; Thomas, Barnes, Wright (Knight, HT); Gordon (Eppiah, 72’).
Substitutes not used: Yates, Pascanu.
Derby County: Mitchell; Bateman, Wassall, Karic (Stabana, 71’); Cover, Elsnik, Bird, Knight, Sibley; Babos; Cresswell (Walker, 80’).
Substitutes not used: Barnes, Whittaker, Mitchell-Lawson.
Major Moment…
When Sibley was given a somewhat harsh second yellow card with 15 minutes to play, the game turned on its head.
Leicester poured forward from that moment and the Rams just couldn’t hold on, but the 3-1 scoreline certainly flattered the hosts on the night.
Who Impressed…
There were so many stand-out performances on the night but Bateman’s performance was near-faultless from his position on the right of the back-three.
As well as winning aerial duels, he controlled the right-hand flank expertly to keep the Leicester attack at bay, especially in the first period as Derby looked to head into the break with the lead.