3/1 To Win
Derby County's Under-21s are through to the Final of the 2022/23 Derbyshire Senior Cup after a 3-2 win over Northern Premier League side Belper Town on Tuesday night.
A brace from midfielder Osazee Aghatise, who was later sent off, and a second half strike from winger Carlos Richards ensured Pat Lyons' side progressed to the Final at Pride Park Stadium in April, when they will face National League - North side Buxton FC.
The young Rams started on fire at Christchurch Meadow and were in the lead within three minutes thanks to Aghatise.
A long-ball was played forward and Aghatise beat the offside trap before slotting calmly past Alfie Smith-Eccles to give Derby the perfect start.
It was two before 10 minutes had been played and it was that man Aghatise again, this time with a superb individual goal.
The Rams' number 10 picked up the ball on the edge of the area and beat several Belper defenders with his quick feet before firing a brilliant strike into the bottom right corner.
Proceedings quietened after a frantic start but the hosts really should have halved the deficit on the half-hour mark.
Jo Nyahwema got in down the right and squared the ball across for Brodie Litchfield but with the goal gaping, the Nailers man put the ball straight back across goal instead of into the empty net.
They did manage to pull one back soon after and it was Litchfield who made up for his earlier miss.
The winger pounced on a slip at the back before charging down on goal and finishing well past Derby goalkeeper Harry Evans.
Nerves certainly didn't creep in for the young Rams after they conceded and they were able to restore their two goal cushion almost immediately after the restart.
Richards picked up the ball on the left side and whipped a delightful effort into the top corner from around 30-yards to make it 3-1.
A difficult final 15 minutes proved to be in store for the young Rams when Aghatise was shown a straight red card for an off the ball incident.
The Nailers had an effort cleared off the line from the corner as they looked to make the most of their numerical advantage in the closing stages but Lyons' side were standing tall.
Belper were handed a golden chance to make it a nervy ending when Evans was adjudged to have brought down substitute Jake Averyl inside the box and Harry Middleton stepped up and converted to make it 3-2 with five minutes to play.
The young Derby side then had to show experience beyond their years to close the game out from then on and, eventually, progress to the final at Pride Park Stadium next month.
Attendance: 428
The Teams
Belper Town: Smith-Eccles (GK), Rhodes, Algar, H Middleton (C), Wilson, Cotterill, Nyahwema, Burrows, Greaves (44' Reaney), Tague, Litchfield (68' Averyl)
Substitutes not used: B Middleton, Jordan, Jackson.
Derby County U21s: Evans (GK), Oduroh, Moloney (61' Grewal-Pollard), Bates, Bardell (C) (61' Cox), Solomon, Taylor-Hart, Robinson, Vigar, Aghatise, Richards (85' Brailsford)
Substitutes not used: Roberts, Fapetu.
