Derby County’s Under-23s were on the wrong end of a five-goal thriller on Friday evening as they were beaten 3-2 by Leeds United in Premier League 2 - Division 1.
Derby flew out of the traps against one of the league’s newcomers and took the lead inside the opening ten minutes through Osazee Aghatise’s well-taken strike.
Leeds hit back to equalise soon afterwards through Crysencio Summerville, but the Rams were back in front by the midway point of the half through midfielder Connor Dixon.
Sam Greenwood levelled the scores once again in a breathless opening 30 minutes at Loughborough University Stadium, with both sides having chances to add to their tally before the half was out.
In a much calmer second period, Leeds substitute Joe Gelhardt put the visitors ahead for the first time on the night with less than 20 minutes remaining.
Derby tried to force an opening in the closing stages to get themselves back into the game, but the Leeds defence kept them at bay to deny them a clear opening.
The Rams also had to play out the closing stages with ten men after skipper Eiran Cashin was sent off for a second bookable offence.
Pat Lyons’ squad contained the vast majority of the players that featured in the 2-0 season-opening defeat at home to Brighton & Hove Albion last week, meaning he had a relatively youthful and inexperienced group to call upon.
The only two changes from the game against Brighton saw Dixon replace Alex Matthews, who reverted to the bench, and Aghatise came into the line-up in place of the injured Tyree Wilson.
Under-18s winger Marko Borkovic, who made his first-ever senior appearance for the Rams in the Carabao Cup Round Two loss at Sheffield United earlier this week, was named amongst the substitutes.
Derby started well and Aghatise had the first effort of the game with two minutes on the clock. After latching onto Dixon’s ball from the left, his effort from 20 yards out flew wide.
The attacking midfielder wasn’t to be denied after nine minutes, as he put Derby ahead. A ball into the Leeds box wasn’t cleared and after Cashin slipped the ball into his path inside the box, Aghatise made no mistake with a drilled effort across goal and into the far corner.
Aghatise was at the heart of everything Derby did going forward early on and after drawing a foul from Leeds defender Noah Kenneh on the edge of the box, a goalmouth scramble ensued before the visitors cleared their lines.
Leeds quickly hit back, though, and were level on 18 minutes. With Derby a man down due to Liam Thompson receiving treatment, Summerville embarked on a fine solo run which saw him thunder an equaliser beyond Harrison Foulkes from inside the Rams’ penalty area.
Lyons’ side got a grip back on proceedings almost immediately and with 23 minutes played they were back in front. Defender Will Grewal-Pollard delivered an inviting cross from the left-hand side across the six-yard box and Dixon timed his froward run to perfection to find the net with a first-time finish.
Derby’s lead didn’t last too long, once again. Leeds caught them on the counter-attack and when Greenwood was played clear on goal, he made no mistake with a composed finish past that onrushing Foulkes.
Leeds pushed to take the lead for the first time in the contest before the break, but Foulkes tipped Lewis Bate’s effort from close range over the bar after he drove into the Derby penalty area from the right-hand side.
With the scoreline locked level at half-time, following what was an end-to-end and very fluid opening 45 minutes, it was perhaps not a shock that the second half began at a slower pace and felt less frantic.
Half-time substitute Borkovic, on for Liam Thompson, had a chance soon after entering the action but he dragged his shot wide from the left-hand side of the area from a tight angle, while at the other end Foulkes did well to push away Greenwood’s shot from the edge of the penalty area as it bounced in front of him.
Aghatise was denied his second goal of the game just before the hour mark as Derby staged a counter-attack which caught Leeds on their heels. The midfielder latched onto Harrison Solomon’s through-ball to burst clear, but his low strike thundered off the post and away to safety.
Amari Miller drew another good stop from Foulkes, this time at this near post, before Leeds took the lead for the first time in the game on 72 minutes as Gelhardt cut inside from the right-hand side and drove a low effort into the corner of the net with his left foot.
Derby weren’t short on effort as they sought to get back onto level terms across the last 20 minutes, but they weren’t able to carve out any noteworthy chances as Leeds defended well and in numbers.
Cashin saw red seconds before the end of normal time for a second booking on the night, both for late challenges, to help the visitors' cause.
The Under-23s will return to action after the two-week international break with a trip to Everton at Southport FC on Friday 10th September (7pm kick-off).
Derby County Under-23s: Foulkes (GK), Bardell, Grewal-Pollard, L Thompson (Borkovic 46), Solomon, Cashin (C), S Thompson, De Gracia, Cybulski, Dixon (Matthews 76), Aghatise (Richards 85).
Substitutes Not Used: Barnes (GK), Clarke.
Leeds United Under-23s: Klaesson (GK), Drameh, Moore, Jenkins, Cresswell (C) (Gelhardt 46) , Kenneh, Summerville (McCarron 46), Bate, Greenwood, McKinstry, Miller (McGurk 87).
Substitutes Not Used: Van Den Heuvel (GK), Sutcliffe.