3/1 To Win
Derby County’s Under-23s saw their winning run come to an abrupt end in a difficult game at the City Academy Stadium.
Darren Wassall’s side were beaten 4-1 by Manchester City's Elite Development Squad to end a run of four straight wins after being undone in the second-half by an imposing City side.
The first chance of the game fell the way of Rams forward Lewis Walker who found himself space on the inside of the box and saw a low shot palmed wide by hosts stopper Aro Muric.
Derby continued to press early on and good work down the right wing from Kyron Stabana found Walker, who laid the ball back to Charles Vernam who struck straight at the goalkeeper.
After the Rams’ early pressure, it was City who made the first breakthrough midway through the first-half.
Derby were caught on the counter and the impressive Brahim Diaz broke into the box where the ball took a bounce - allowing him to slide a pass across to Benjamin Garre who applied the finish.
Derby responded well to going a goal behind and pressed for the equaliser, and after a string of neat passes saw Vernam fire just over Muric’s goal.
Half-time City substitute Lukas Nmecha made an instant impact in a tough second-half for the Rams, as he netted a quick hat-trick to put the game out of sight, undoing the good first-half work by Derby.
The Rams continued to press and managed to find the net with an injury time cross being headed home by substitute Jakobsen and the game finished 4-1.
Manchester City EDS: Muric; Duhaney, Adarabioyo, Francis, Wilson; Diallo (Richards, 63), Davenport, Dele-Bashiru; Matondo (Gonazalez, 79), Diaz (Nmecha, 45), Garre.
Substitutes not used: Oliver, Scott
Derby County Under-23s: Barnes; Stabana, Wassall, Macdonald, Lowe (Bateman, 64); Hanson, Guy (Bird, 64); Thomas, Vernam (Jakobsen, 64), Babos; Walker.
Substitutes not used: Cover, Yates.
Major Moment…
The Rams found themselves behind at the interval and as Pat Lyons told us after the game, it was important they made sure they stayed in the game.
Derby had created chances aplenty, but they dealt a real sucker punch as Lukas Nmecha scored within a minute of the restart to give Wassall's side a real mountain to climb.
As it turned out, it set the tone for the rest of the half as the forward wrapped up his hat-trick.
Who Impressed…
Vernam looked to be Derby’s main attacking outlet throughout as he constantly sought to drive the team forward when possible.
The strong forward was only prevented from getting himself on the score sheet by a restricted number of chances.
The recently returned Jamie Hanson also deserves a mention for his persistence and energy in the middle of the park.
What’s Next…
Next up for Darren Wassall and his side is Tottenham Hotspur at Pride Park Stadium on Friday 27th October, kick-off: 7pm.
Following that game, the Under-23s have another home fixture in the Premier League International Cup against Wolfsburg on the following Wednesday.
Words by Andrew Haines
Images By Harry Marshall
