St. Mary's Stadium
Derby County Under-21 fell to a 4-1 defeat on the road against Southampton in Premier League 2 on Friday night.
Moses Sesay gave the Saints the lead from the penalty spot at St Mary’s Stadium, and Nicholas Oyekunle doubled their lead one minute before the break to put the home side in control.
Southampton netted once again through Will Merry in the 48th minute to make it 3-0 and further strengthen their grip on the contest.
Captain Adisa Osayande pulled one back for the Rams in the 83rd minute, but Brandon Charles restored the host’s three-goal advantage three minutes later to round off the scoring.
Danny Maye’s side are still awaiting their first win of the Premier League 2 campaign.
Their focus shifts now to the Premier League Cup, where they will face Bristol City in a home fixture at the Proctor Cars Stadium after the international break, on Monday 20th October (7pm kick-off).
Derby County Under-21s: Thompson (GK), Turley, Stokes (Gough 60), Osayande, Canoville, Wähling, Richards (Wilson 46), Allen (Tola 46), Wheeldon, Eames, Oguntolu (Osong 60).
Unused Substitutes: Dzialuk (GK).
“It was a tough evening,” Senior Professional Development Coach Danny Maye admitted following the game.
“They outplayed us in key areas tonight. We had some good moments with the ball, but didn’t threaten their goal anywhere near enough.
“Defensively, we were too open, and the players struggled to solve the problems Southampton caused us. We allowed ourselves to be played through the middle consistently with screening or cutting down the distances between the units.
“In both boxes, we just weren’t at the level required tonight. There can be no excuses, but they were simply better on the night.”
