3/1 To Win
Derby County's Under-21s beat Mansfield Town Under-21s 4-0 in the Central League Cup on Wednesday afternoon.
Goals from Tony Weston, Dajaune Brown, Alex Gibson-Hammond and Lennon Wheeldon made sure of a convincing victory for the young Rams in Nottinghamshire.
The win made it six points out of six in the Central League Cup this term after the 5-2 home win over Lincoln City last month.
The hosts started well with James Gale testing Jack Thompson in the Derby goal early with a strong shot before the Rams' shot-stopper was again called into action denying Hiram Boateng from a close range header.
After soaking up some early pressure, Jake Buxton's men took the lead after 20 minutes when Weston hit a well placed effort past Scott Flinders.
McKeal Abdullah forced Thompson into another save as the Rams took a slender lead into the break.
The Stags continued their search for a leveller after the restart with Finn Flanagan and Will Swan both going close.
But it was a quick-fire double from the Rams that saw the game out of sight as the clock entered the final 20 minutes.
Brown added a second before Gibson-Hammond made sure with the third of the afternoon.
Mansfield had a golden opportunity to notch a consolation late on when Abdullah was brought down in the area. He himself stepped up for the penalty but it was saved by Thompson to keep his clean-sheet intact.
And there was still time for Derby to add some gloss to the scoreline late on when Wheeldon fired home with the last kick of the game to complete an extremely convincing win at the RH Academy.
Next up for the Under-21s is a Premier League 2 outing against Manchester City at Moor Farm Training Ground on Saturday 28th October (12pm kick-off), while they will return to Central League Cup action when they host Notts County at Moor Farm on Tuesday 21st November (2pm kick-off).
Derby County Under-21s: Thompson (GK), Bartley, Moloney, Radcliffe, Jeffcott, Robinson, Gibson-Hammond, Fapetu, Davidson, Brown, Weston.
Substitutes: Hawkins, Wheeldon, Bates
