3/1 To Win
Pat Lyons has praised the character that Derby County’s young Under-23s side showed to take the game to an experienced Swansea City, before two late goals saw them fall to a harsh 5-2 defeat at the Liberty Stadium.
The Rams found themselves three goals down after 32 minutes in Wales against a Swans team that contained the likes of Wilfried Bony and Oliver McBurnie, who both got on the scoresheet.
Darren Wassall’s men, though, regrouped and mounted a spirited fightback thanks to goals from Luke Thomas and Joe Bateman to claw the score back to 3-2 with 16 minutes remaining.
A point-blank save and then the crossbar denied Derby a deserved leveller, before two finishes added gloss to the scoreline for the hosts, who claimed their first Premier League 2 Division 1 win of the campaign.
Admitting the result was harsh on his players, Lyons says the match is one Derby’s young players will only learn from.
He did, however, concede that work needs to be done in the coming days when it comes to dealing with the power and pace that they have faced on many occasions already this season.
Lyons told RamsTV: “When we got their team sheet we quickly saw that they had a few first team players out there and it was a great test for our players – one they will learn a lot from.
“We were very pleased with our possession and the way we passed the ball. They caught us with some counter-attacking opportunities, but we hadn’t actually done too much wrong yet we found ourselves three goals down.
“Obviously, that was disappointing, but the lads showed great character. We got a goal before half time and we really did take the game to them in the second half to get it back to 3-2; we had a real chance of getting something out of the game at that point.
“We had two great chances to do that through Luke Thomas and Alex Babos, who was unlucky, particularly, with his effort that hit the crossbar.
“It wasn’t to be and at the end they took the game away from us by getting two late goals. That was a bit sloppy on our part.
“What we do need to do, though, is get back to the drawing board and work on how we move forward in terms of dealing with the power and pace that we are going to come up against in the coming games.”
After several key figures within the squad headed out on loan, Wassall, as suggested, handed opportunities to some of the other young players pushing for an opportunity.
Two of them – Thomas and Bateman – scored and Lyons said he was proud of the displays of the younger players.
He added: “We had three lads start the game that hadn’t start all season. It was a good chance for them to impress, with three of the other players heading out on loan.
“It was time for them to step up and we’re really proud of them for the manner in which they have acquitted themselves and the football they have played.
“To come here and play against a side like that and put on that type of performance means we have plenty to build on.”
