Derby County’s Under-18s maintained their impressive 2024/25 campaign in Premier League - North with a 4-1 victory at Liverpool on Saturday afternoon.
Fresh from claiming a 3-1 win at Sheffield United in the Fourth Round of the FA Youth Cup on Wednesday night, Derby flew out of the traps and took the lead inside four minutes through midfielder Owen Eames after being set up by Cruz Allen.
Welsh youth international midfielder Allen made it 2-0 after 20 minutes to firmly put the Rams in the driving seat.
Liverpool did, however, hit back a few minutes later through Joe Bradshaw to reduce the deficit and issue a reminder to Derby that they were still very much in the contest.
The Rams restored their two-goal advantage early in the second period through forward Justin Oguntolu, before half-time substitute Charles Ebuka Agbawodikeizu marked his return from injury by making it 4-1 on the hour mark.
The win sees Danny Maye’s side sit third in the league table, behind pacesetters Manchester United and Manchester City.
Next up for the Under-18s is a home clash against Newcastle United at Moor Farm Training Ground on Saturday 1st February (1pm kick-off).
Derby County Under-18s: Price (GK), I Gordon (Ward 64), Gill (Doyle 64), Tola, Osayande, Banks, Corry (Ebuka Agbawodikeizu 46), Hodges, Oguntolu, Eames (Friars 76), Allen.
Substitutes Not Used: Rees (GK).
Post-Match Reaction
Reacting to the win, Under-18 Lead Coach Danny Maye said: “It was a pleasing performance overall. We had control of the game for large parts and created a lot of chances.
“It was the best we have kept the ball and pinned a team in for a while. This allowed us to pick our moments to attack and counter press when we lost it. The 2-1 scoreline at half time wasn't a fair reflection of the performance.
“In the second half we started well and looked a threat for 20 minutes and scoring twice put us into a comfortable 4 1 lead. The last 25 minutes our levels dropped but we did see out the game well. We still looked a threat on the counter but should have looked after the ball much better to gain back momentum and control. It was a really pleasing performance with a lot of strong individual performances.”
