3/1 To Win
A mixture of Derby County Under-23s and Under-18s got their first pre-season run out on Tuesday evening in a friendly against Matlock Town at Causeway Lane on Tuesday night.
Luke Plange found the back of the net for the Rams inside the opening three minutes before a brace from Alex Byrne earned the hosts a 2-1 victory.
Harrison Solomon, Ozzie Aghatise and Plange all got 60 minutes under their belts, while the rest of the starting XI played the opening 45 minutes with 21 Rams players in total taking to the pitch.
It took just three minutes for Derby to get on the scoresheet, after Trialist B made a great run down the right flank before setting Plange outside the area. The forward, who joined the Rams' Under-23 squad in the summer as a free agent, rifled his low effort into the back of the net.
The Derby goalkeeper, Trialist A, was tested a couple of times in the opening stages as he was called into deny a close-range effort from a tight angle before a dangerous cross was fired across the face of the goal, but Ales Wiles was unable to connect at the back post.
However, the Gladiators levelled the score just after the half an hour mark. They were awarded a free-kick on the edge of the box, while Byrne struck high into the top corner.
Minutes after, Plange took aim again from 25 yards out for Derby, but his low effort was saved by the Matlock goalkeeper.
Just after the hour mark, Matlock had the ball in the back of the net again when a corner was turned in. However, the referee blew his whistle for an offensive foul in the area.
Ten minutes later, however, Byrne completed his brace to earn the victory for the hosts with a powerful effort.
Derby were unable to find any further chances late on, but gained valuable minutes against the Northern Premier League side.
Their next friendly is on Friday when a combination of Under-23s and Under-18 players will face Loughborough University side at Moor Farm Training Ground (1pm kick-off).
Derby County Under-23s/Under-18s: Trialist A, Brailsford, Moloney, Matthews, Bardell, Solomon, Trialist B, Robinson, Plange, Aghatise, Thompson.
Substitutes: Roberts, Grewal-Pollard, Perez de Gracia, Clarke, Trialist C, Moore, Kelly, Dixon, Cybulski, Nicholas-Davies.
