Under-21s
Derby County Under-21s claimed their first win of the new season as they beat Preston North End 2-0 on the road in the Central League on Tuesday afternoon.
A first half strike from Dajaune Brown put Derby in front in the 29th minute, before a Max Bardell goal in the second period doubled their lead.
Jake Buxton’s side came into the game off the back of a 3-1 defeat to Aston Villa in their first Premier League 2 clash of the new campaign.
The team opted to play in the Central League to add nine games to the young Rams' fixtures programme, against the likes of Notts County, Wrexham and Stoke City.
Preston proved to be a tough test for the Under-21 side, with some senior Sky Bet Championship players lining up for the home side, including experienced centre-back Patrick Bauer and Montenegrin striker Milutin Osmajić.
The Rams’ goalkeeper Josh Shattell was called into action as Osmajić had an early chance, but the shot-stopper got low with a strong hand to deny the stinging strike from the attacker.
Brown took first blood in the match as he struck an accomplished finish low beyond North End goalkeeper James Pradic just before the half-hour mark.
Joe Ward, gaining match minutes after a pre-season injury for Paul Warne's senior siden, early doubled Derby’s lead in the 34th minute, as his attempt to chip the ball over Pradic went just beyond the crossbar.
Buxton’s side came out of the traps early in the second half, as Bardell struck beyond the goalkeeper to cement Derby’s lead.
North End looked to gain a foothold back into the game with ten minutes to go as Layton Stewart saw the ball into the back of the net, but the Preston striker was judged to be in an offside position and the goal was ruled out.
Derby County U21 Starting XI: Shattell (GK), Bardell, Radcliffe, Cox, Gill, Ward, Turley, Hawkins, Wheeldon, Ilesanmi, Brown.
On The Bench: Rees (GK), Perry, Spencer, Moloney, Stepien-Iwumene.
Preston North End U21 Starting XI: Pradic (GK), Kesler-Hayden, Bauer, Best, Pasiek, Taylor, T.Mawene, N.Mawene, Wilson, Okkels, Osmajić.
On The Bench: Stowell, McGhee, Seary, Stewart, Rodriguez-Gentile.
Reacting to the team’s first win of the 2024/25 season, Under-21 Lead Coach Jake Buxton said: “It was a tough game up against a Preston team with a lot of Championship experience in their side.
“It was really nice for the team to get the reward of a clean sheet after their very hard work out of possession. We improved on our duels today, too, which is something we spoke about after our game against Aston Villa on Friday.
"This progress is something we want to keep up going into our next league game against Manchester City."
