Under-18s
A late surge proved futile as Derby County’s Under-18s were defeated 6-3 by Manchester United in an extraordinary match in Premier League – North.
Despite being on top for the majority of the first half; evidenced by Jayden Mitchell-Lawson hitting the upright with a thunderous drive and both Jordan Brown and Jason Knight nearly scoring more than once with efforts at the back post, it was Manchester United who took a 2-0 lead going into the break.
United opened the scoring after quarter of an hour from good play out wide by winger Millen Baars, but not without the ball falling kindly to midfielder Jimmy Garner who flicked it over the oncoming Matthew Yates.
The second seemed equally cruel for The Rams, as right on the stroke of half-time, United striker Mason Greenwood managed to wriggle through several challenges in the box and squeeze a shot underneath Yates to double the lead.
The Red Devils’ best period of the game came after half-time.
Sniffing blood, the league leaders’ pressure was rewarded with a third goal; on the hour mark the dangerous Largie Ramazini was played through down the left and his shot was saved by Yates but fell on the feet of substitute Burkart who tapped into the empty net.
Beginning in the 70th minute; what ensued next was an absolute whirlwind eight minutes of football that produced a bizarre flurry of five goals. Jason Knight continued his habit of scoring exquisite goals, by controlling a cleared ball expertly with his chest before drilling a volley into the far corner from the edge of the box.
At 3-1 hope of a comeback was sparked but this quickly dissipated with a quickfire Manchester United double. the three -goal lead was restored as Burkart once again capitalised on the space out wide by firing a cross-cum-shot across goal which was unfortunately turned into his own net by the covering Callum Minkley.
United then had their tails up and scored a fifth when Greenwood doubled his personal tally by receiving a slipped pass, calmly rounding Yates and finishing.
Changes were needed, and the substitutions had a significant impact. Trialist (from Cardiff City) Keiron Proctor introduced himself to Derby and reduced the arrears with a fine touch and finish from the edge of the box to make it 5-2.
Just a minute later and it seemed the impossible comeback could be on, as an excellent Brown cross fell to Ayomide Jibodu who tucked it away.
The atmosphere changed with what seemed like impending win for the home side now an uncertainty, and there was palpable tension making its way onto the pitch – namely in the form of strong challenges and heated exchanges from both sets of players.
Derby pushed and pushed to find a way to get within touching distance, forcing saves from Alex Fojticek in the home goal and having strong penalty appeals turned away, but the damage had already been done.
In desperate pursuit of another goal Derby succumbed to a United counter-attack which sealed the victory in injury time, cleverly finished off with a delicate chip by Burkart over Yates.
In an emotionally exhausting and rather remarkable game that concluded 6-3, there were as many negatives as there were positives for Derby County.
Despite the loss, Derby still hold onto fifth place in the table with 20 points from 14 matches to date – suffering just their fourth defeat of the campaign.
The next opportunity to get back to winning ways will be during the visit of Blackburn Rovers next week.
Following that, Derby find themselves with a tricky trip to Merseyside for a clash against Liverpool.
Derby County U18s Vs Blackburn Rovers U18s – Saturday 10th February 2018 (kick-off: 12:30pm)
Liverpool U18s Vs Derby County U18s – Friday 16th February 2018 (kick-off: 7pm)
Middlesbrough U18s Vs Derby County U18s – Saturday 24th February 2018 (kick-off: 1pm)
Derby County U18s Vs West Bromwich Albion – Saturday 3rd March 2018 (kick-off: 11am)
Wolverhampton Wanderers U18s Vs Derby County U18s – Saturday 17th March 2018 (kick-off: 11am)
Words by Jools Jordan-Probert
