Under-18s
Derby County’s Under-18s picked up a point on the road in their first away fixture of the 2024/25 Under-18 Premier League - North season at Newcastle United.
The game ended in a 3-3 draw with the Rams hitting back to equalise deep into added time to claim a point and maintain their unbeaten start to the season, following the 5-1 home win over Liverpool last weekend.
Newcastle took the lead after 11 minutes through Sean Neave as they applied early pressure on the Derby goal.
However, Danny Maye’s side hit back to equalise before half-time through midfielder Owen Eames’ second goal in as many games.
Charles Ebuka Agbawodikeizu put the Rams in front just after half-time, but their lead was short-lived as Neave equalised a few minutes later.
The Newcastle forward completed his hat-trick from the penalty spot just after the hour mark and that looked to be enough to hand the Magpies the win.
However, Derby equalised in the 93rd minute from the penalty spot through Luke Banks, after Jerome Richards had been fouled, to earn a share of the spoils from a breathless encounter.
Next up for the Under-18s is a long trip south to face Brighton & Hove Albion in the Premier League Cup on Tuesday 27th August (11am kick-off), before rounding off the first month of the season with a home clash against Stoke City in the Under-18 Premier League on Saturday 31st August (11am kick-off).
Derby County Under-18s: Rees (GK), I Gordon, K Gordon, Tola, Banks, Osayande, Richards, Agustien, Agbawodikeizu (Corry 61), Eames, Oguntolu.
Substitutes Not Used: Friars, Doyle, Green, Mintus.
“Overall, we played very well today,” Maye said when reacting to the draw. “We controlled most the game and had a lot of the ball.
“They sat quite deep, so it was difficult to break them down. However, we still created a lot of chances. We weren’t as clinical as we have been in the last few games.
“Newcastle tended to play longer, which gave us little chance to press. The chances we did have to do that, we weren’t aggressive enough. This improved as the game went on and two of our goals came from pressing high.”
He concluded: “Their goals came from errors and playing out. That can happen when we’re trying to dominate the ball, but the pleasing thing was to see the lads support each other through it and finish strong together.”
