3/1 To Win
Despite defeat for Derby County’s Under-23s against Chelsea, Pat Lyons found positives from a much-improved second-half performance at St George’s Park.
The Rams were beaten by a Daishawn Redan hat-trick as they faced a Chelsea side including England international midfielder Ross Barkley.
After a difficult first period, Derby performed admirably after the break and Lyons believes that the players will benefit from taking on one of the best youth sides in the game.
He told RamsTV: “They were very good, we were up against one of the best academies in the country, if not the world, so we knew that it was going to be a difficult challenge with a very young team.
“We were disappointed with the way we played in the first half but we’re pleased with the way that we came out after the break and dominated the ball, but we just didn’t have that final bit of quality.
“We always say that it’s great for our players to play against first team players because that is where they want to get to.
“He [Barkley] had a good attitude and he did well, and it was a good experience for some of our boys.”
Derby were 2-0 down at the break but after regrouping at half-time, they displayed their quality and made their illustrious visitors work hard for the three points.
Explaining the changes that were made at the interval, Lyons said: “We weren’t getting to grips with their formation in the first half, so we changed a couple of personnel, and Louie and Jason did well.
“We needed more moral courage and a little bit of belief in ourselves to get on the ball and go and play, and to be fair to them, they did that.
“We can take those positives into next week and the next three games before the end of the season.”
The young Rams now face three huge games as they look to maintain their Premier League 2 – Division 1 status.
Lyons hailed what has been a superb campaign so far, as he looked ahead to next week’s meeting with Tottenham Hotspur.
He said: “The lads have done brilliantly this season in a top league against top opposition and it’s been a big challenge against the big clubs.
“We’re just looking for a few more points to hopefully secure us in this league, because what it gives us is the chance to play against the top clubs and that will only help the development of our players.
“We know it will be difficult but it’s quite tight so we just need to keep the lads positive, move on to next week and hopefully we can put in a good performance.”
