U18s Earn Third Victory Inside A Week

Derby County Under-18s made it three wins inside a week when they defeated Blackburn Rovers 3-1 at the Blackburn Rovers Academy.

The young Rams picked up wins in hree different competitions in a busy eight days, starting off with a 3-4 victory over Reading in the Under-18 Premier League Cup.

Justin Walker’s side then linked up with a handful of first-year professionals to reunite last season’s Under-18s National Champions as they travelled to Belarus to make history, making their first UEFA Youth League appearance in style in a 2-0 win over FC Minsk.

They had no time to rest as they return to league action on Saturday against Rovers who were reduced to ten men ahead of half-time.

The home side took the lead first through Sam Burns who was fed through in the left side of the box to go one-on-one with Harry Halwax and made no mistake in his strike.

Just six minutes later, Derby found the equaliser with his first of two goals on the afternoon. Jaden Charles and Tyree Wilson put Blackburn under pressure in their own half and Stretton was able to intercept a back pass to the Blackburn keeper before firing into the top left corner.

Blackburn were reduced then reduced to ten men when Luke Brennan was shown a red card just two minutes later for a foul off the ball.

Following the break, the Rams took the lead for the first time in the game, after brilliant movement of the ball throughout the team. Archie Brown continued to add to his goal contributions on the new season, crossing across goal to find Eno Nto at the far post to tap in.

With ten minutes left to play, Stretton added his second to seal all three points. Wilson did brilliantly to evade defenders as he burst into the right side of the box before taking aim from close-range.

The Rovers’ keeper parried his effort away into the path of the Rams’ striker, he took a touch to beat his marker before a cool finish into the bottom corner.

The victory moved Derby up to seventh in the Premier League – North table ahead of the second international break of the season.