3/1 To Win
Justin Walker was full of praise for his Under-18 side after they defeated West Bromwich Albion 3-1 away from home to impressively return to winning ways.
Adam Davie scored twice in the first half and Morgan Whittaker added a third late in the second period; Jamie Soule added the consolation goal for the hosts.
Prior to this victory, the Rams had been left with a sense of frustration in their previous three fixtures having been held to respective draws against Swansea City, Blackburn Rovers and Middlesbrough.
On Saturday afternoon, though, the Rams left nothing to chance and Derby’s professional development phase coach Walker did not hold back on hailing praise for his side for the manor in which they performed.
“It’s great to return to winning ways,” Walker told dcfc.co.uk.
“We have come close and we have managed to take a point in the previous games but overall, it is important that we start to turn performances into results.”
Despite controlling the match for the first half, Derby had a number of chances where they could have increased their lead and Walker felt that his side could have secured the result earlier in the match.
“We played well, I think it was a battling performance”, he added.
“We dominated long periods of the game and created quite a lot of opportunities, but we only took two.
“At 2-0, we offered them a couple of opportunities to get back in the game and Matt Yates pulled off a really important save for us at a key time. We managed to take the 2-0 lead into half time.
“On the whole, it was a very promising performance.”
On a side note, Max Bird, who has featured for the Rams’ first team this season, played for the duration of the victory over the Baggies.
Walker described how much of an inspiration Bird has been for the whole of the academy.
He said: “Max is a fantastic role model for the academy players.
“He has dealt with the transition between the first team, Under-23s and Under-18s very well.
“He is a credit to himself and he showcases exactly the right type of characteristics and quality when he appears at any level.”
“He is a great kid who works hard every day on the training ground and his goals were well deserved today. “
Walker’s and Rory Delap’s side are next in action on Saturday 21st of October, where they will travel to the Clayton Wood Training Ground to face Stoke City.
Derby’s Under-18s go into that match currently on a four-game unbeaten streak. Walker felt that the recent results are starting to provide a good feeling around the team, but insists that they need to stay grounded.
“Momentum starts to build with the players in terms of staying in games and gaining results,” Walker added.
“We are totally focused on our performance levels and how our individuals our progressing throughout the season.”
