Derby County Under-21s slid to a narrow 2-1 defeat away from home against Brighton & Hove Albion Under-21s in Premier League 2 on Friday night.
Jake Buxton’s side came into the contest off the back of a 1-0 win against Brentford B in the Premier League Cup on Monday.
Brighton’s young side came into the clash with back-to-back wins in the Premier League International Cup against RB Leipzig Under-21s and Real Sociedad Under-21s.
First-team defender Jake Rooney captained the side for the second time in as many games as he continued to build up his match sharpness after recovering from a knee injury sustained in pre-season.
Darren Robinson started for the Under-21s for the first time since returning from his loan with Hartlepool United.
Alex Stepien-Iwumene opened the scoring in the 17th minute for the Rams in an evenly matched contest.
The hosts hit back to equalise in the 31st minute through midfielder Remeiro Moulton, which sent the game into half-time with the scoreline even.
Seagulls midfielder Yussif Owusu netted a decisive goal with 70 minutes on the clock, which gave the hosts a lead they refused to yield.
The introduction of Jack Perry, Morten Spencer and Johnson Osong to the field in the late stages pushed the Rams to attack, but a stern Brighton defence held out to give the East Sussex outfit all three points in Premier League 2.
The result sent the Seagulls top of the division after seven games.
The Rams' Under-21s will be looking to return to winning ways in the league when they face West Bromwich Albion at the Proctor Cars Stadium on Friday 1st November (7pm kick-off).
Team News
Derby County Under-21s: Thompson (GK), Turley, Gill, D. Robinson (Perry 72), Rooney (C), K. Robinson, Bardell (Spencer 81), Hawkins (Osong 82), McAndrew, Stepien-Iwumene (Ilesanmi 57), Allen.
Unused Substitutes: Shattell (GK).
Post-Match Reaction
“It was a very tight game with many positives to take away,” Under-21s Lead Coach Jake Buxton said after the Premier League 2 fixture.
"Some good moments were created in the first half and we scored a very well-worked goal. We pushed for a second in the first half, but it just didn't land for us.
“We were disappointed with the goals we conceded and both could have been avoided but we finished the game strong;y and on another day we could have scored. We just didn’t quite show the quality needed to get that goal.
“Overall it was a good performance and the lads competed well. We'll look to build on it when we move on to a big game against West Bromwich Albion at Matlock Town on 1st November.”
Images: Brighton & Hove Albion.