Maintaining momentum will be at the top of the agenda when Derby County’s Under 23s face Colchester United in their final Premier League Cup fixture on Monday evening.
Darren Wassall’s squad return to St George’s Park for the first of three successive home games to take on the U’s (kick-off: 7pm) and ahead of the match, dcfc.co.uk has pulled together all there is to know about the clash.Darren Wassall could look to make changes to his starting line-up in the Rams’ final Group C Premier League Cup outing.
He is likely to be without Mason Bennett, who was involved with the first team at the weekend and will be pushing to keep his place in the matchday squad for Tuesday's trip to Ewood Park to face Blackburn Rovers.
The club’s academy director has fielded a consistent starting XI in Derby Under 23s’ last few outings and could opt to give other players the chance to shine against Colchester.
Offrande Zanzala, Tom Mellors and Ethan Wassall all continue to be ruled out through injury whilst Kyron Stabana is closing in on a return to action after injuring ligaments in training last month.
The Rams will, however, be without Charles Vernam, Farrend Rawson and Callum Guy, who are all out on loan deals until the rest of the season.
Derby’s Under 23s face a tall order to qualify for the knockout stages of the Premier League Cup and need a host of other results to go in their favour.
Monday night’s clash with Colchester United is their last Group C fixture and whilst they need to win themselves by at least three goals, the Rams also require Hull City to defeat Manchester City EDS and Colchester to qualify from the group alongside the Tigers.
Here’s a look at the Group C table ahead of Monday night’s meeting with the U’s:
PositionClubPlayedWDLGFGAGDPoints1Hull City U23s430173492Colchester United U23s421156-173Manchester City EDS5203118364Derby County U23s5113713-64
Calum Macdonald, the Scotland Under 21 international defender, says the clash with Colchester still holds a great deal of importance regardless in terms of their league form.
Off the back of their hard-earned 2-1 win over Liverpool at the Reds’ Kirkby Academy base last time out, the 19-year-old full back says the Rams need to use the meeting with the U’s to maintain their momentum.
Macdonald told dcfc.co.uk: “It's a different game, but there are a few things that we need to put right in that competition.
“We had a bad result at Hull the other week (lost 4-1) and we have got to put that right. We will go into it with different aims and objectives, but we will try to keep this run of form going.
“It’s a huge game for the confidence and momentum because we want to keep this run going.”
He added: “There are going to be games like the one we had against Liverpool where we are going to have to dig in and scrap.
“We have got a young team and we are not always going to dictate possession, so we know that there are going to be occasions where we sit in, fight and battle.
“We will win games because of that. Nobody will want to face us with the way that we are playing.”
Click here to read Calum Macdonald’s full pre-match interview ahead of Derby Under 23s’ clash with Colchester.
As ever, supporters will be able to watch Derby County’s Under 23s for FREE at St George’s Park on Monday evening.
No tickets for admission is needed ahead of the fixture at the national teams’ Burton-upon-Trent base, whilst car parking spaces are available on a first come first served basis.
COLCHESTER UNITED U23s 2-2 DERBY COUNTY U23sMonday 05 December, 2016
Charles Vernam’s brace was not enough for Derby County’s Under 23s as Colchester United fought back from two goals down to claim a share of the spoils in the reverse Premier League Cup fixture back in December.
The Rams’ forward struck twice in the first half – his eighth and ninth goals of the season – whilst Callum Guy also missed a penalty spot kick during a period in which the visitors held a one goal advantage.
The excellent Dion Sembie-Ferris halved the deficit with a close-range finish to begin the comeback five minutes before the interval, before Cameron James levelled matters after bundling in a precise deep free kick.
Either side could have won the entertaining clash as the clock ticked down and Vernam came closest to sealing the three points, but sent a first-time effort agonisingly wide of the far post as Darren Wassall’s side were forced to settle for a point.
Colchester United U23s: Barnes, Ocran, Wilson, Wright, Grandison (Keys, 86), James, Sembie-Ferris, Regis, Hoskins (Sheriff, 71), Edge, Dunne
Substitutes not used: Williams, McKeown, Anderson
Derby County U23s: Weale, Stabana, Cover, Lelan, Macdonald; Guy, Elsnik, Vernam; Gordon (Walker, 46), Babos (Cresswell, 71), Jakobsen
Substitutes not used: Ravas, Mitchell-Lawson, Bateman
Rams supporters not attending Monday evening’s fixture will be able to keep up to date with how Darren Wassall’s men get on by following the official Derby County Twitter account, @dcfcofficial, whilst a full match report, match images, reaction and match highlights will follow across dcfc.co.uk and RamsTV after the full-time whistle.
Tweets by @ dcfcofficial
