3/1 To Win
Lennon Wheeldon’s double helped seal a 3-0 win for Derby
County Under-21s against AFC Bournemouth in Group I of the Premier League Cup at
the Wyatt Homes Stadium on Friday night.
Wheeldon’s brace was complemented by an Israel Green penalty late in the second half to see Derby take a well earned three points on the South Coast.
After Derby took the lead, the hosts suffered a blow halfway through the second period as a second yellow for Michael Dacosta Gonzalez saw them numerically weakened.
With Bournemouth’s fate in the group stage already sealed at the bottom of the table, Derby’s win sees them level on points with Brentford B and Chelsea. The Rams sit in third place on goal difference and the Blues, Derby’s next and final opponents in the competition, are top of the group with a game in hand.
An early corner-kick for Jake Buxton’s side forced a goalmouth scramble as Riley Moloney’s delivery was met by Lennon Wheeldon, but the striker couldn’t get the connection to send the ball into the back of the net and the danger was cleared from six yards out.
Derby had the lead in the 23rd minute after Moloney carried the ball through the midfield and slotted Jerome Richards in down the left flank where he squared the ball into the box. England youth international Wheeldon was on the scene to prod home to open the scoring.
Wheeldon came near to doubling his tally ten minutes later when the ball dropped for him in the penalty box at the far post and the striker struck towards goal but was thwarted by goalkeeper Cal McKenna.
Ashley Clarke came near for the Cherries moments later as he charged down the left and threaded a dangerous ball across the face of goal but couldn’t find a team-mate to hit the target.
Bournemouth were close again as they looked to hit Derby on the break just before the half-time break as Koby Mottoh’s curled effort just evaded the far post as he struck from the edge of the box.
Derby started the second period clinically, with Jack Perry slotting a tidy through ball to Wheeldon who ran beyond the Cherries’ backline and made no mistake with the finish to get his second goal of the game.
The striker looked to be in again when Dan Cox met a deep free kick at the far post and sent the ball back across goal and onto the head of Wheeldon who hit the bar from close range in a packed penalty box.
Clarke almost brought one back for the Cherries when he latched onto goalkeeper Harry Evans' headed clearance on the edge of the box but a fantastic save from Evans thwarted the effort.
The hosts went down to ten men in the 56th minute after Dacosta Gonzalez impeded Richards, who was attempting to mount a counter-attack. The foul saw the Cherries midfielder receive his second yellow card of the game and his marching orders.
Demiane Agustien forced a save from McKenna in the 68th minute as he hit from the edge of the area after Alex Stepien-Iwumene’s strike was deflected into his path with Derby attempting to capitalise on the numerical advantage.
Substitute Billy Gough had a nearly identical chance from the left flank in the 74th minute when he drove towards goal and unleashed a stinging strike that was denied by McKenna who was once more alert to Derby’s threat.
Green was felled in the penalty area after some neat link up play in the 88th minute and he took the spot kick with aplomb, striking the ball into the left of the goal net and sending the goalkeeper the wrong way to seal the win.
Team News
Derby County Under-21s: Evans (GK), Canoville, Moloney, D. Robinson, Cox (C), K. Robinson, Perry (K. Gordon 66), Stepien-Iwumene, Wheeldon (Green 82), Agustien, Richards (Gough 71).
On The Bench: Shattell (GK), Mintus.
Images: AFC Bournemouth.
