Derby County Under-18s manager Justin Walker believed his side showed great resilience and professionalism in their 3-1 away victory against Blackburn Rovers.
It took the young Rams just three minutes to take the lead at the Blackburn Rovers Training Centre as Morgan Whittaker met Archie Brown’s cross to open the scoring.
Derby were then pegged back by a Samuel Durrant rocket but remained in the game with goal line clearances either side of half-time, initially from Eiran Cashin and the later Whittaker.
With 20 minutes remaining the Under-18s restored their lead with Jason Knight smartly chipping Benjamin Winterbottom and ten minutes later had the game sewn up as Connor Dixon latched onto a Jack Stretton through ball and Dixon made no mistake in finding the net.
Speaking to dcfc.co.uk, Walker said: “I think we were magnificent, I thought we were professional in every department. You know what you’re going to get when you come to Blackburn.
“It was a tough game, they make it difficult for you and they’re full of energy so it can be a tough afternoon if you’re not ready to match that and I thought we did.
“I enjoyed it actually, I enjoyed watching the reaction of the players because I think we need to find out about them.
“We didn’t have it all our own way, they had periods of pressure and we conceded but it’s what you do at that stage; we showed resilience, we dug in, got through a bit of a tough period and came out on top in the end.”
The Premier League – North tie saw a return to a full 90 minutes of action for Jack Stretton who impressed with early season goal scoring form before suffering an injury.
“Yeah it’s fantastic,” Walker said on Stretton’s return.
“He’s been frustrated, as you always are when you’re injured, but he’s worked hard and it’s nice to have him amongst the group because he’s a great character and personality and he did a lot of unselfish running today for the team.
“It looks as though he’s looked after himself as well because he completed the ninety plus minutes and had a great effect on the game.”
As well as the Under-18’s victory Walker was also pleased to see six academy graduates feature as part of the first team squad against Reading.
“It’s a fantastic day for the academy, I’ve just heard that we have six academy graduates in the first team’s eighteen today; so we’ve shuffled the pack again which has given an opportunity to some who haven’t played much football.
“They’ve come in and taken that opportunity all round, so it’s been a good day and a good week for us.”
Words by Andrew Haines