Thu 24 Mar
Time to read: 3mins
Charles Vernam believes Derby County’s Under 21s proved that they learned from their defeat to Valencia earlier this season in their 2-0 win over Sporting Lisbon.
Callum Guy and Ivan Calero were both on target in an impressive first half showing from Rory Delap’s side before they displayed their defensive capabilities to shut the game out in the second 45 minutes.
Back in October the Rams fell to a 4-0 loss to Valencia and Vernam insists that the group have learned from that loss.
With that, he believes there was an extra determination amongst the group to ensure that they achieved a positive result from their meeting with Lisbon yesterday afternoon at their Academia Sporting training ground.
Speaking to Rams Player HD after the game, the young forward said: “Everyone is delighted.
“We have come away to Portugal and were all really focused on making sure that we put in a performance in the game. Everyone put a great shift in and we came out with a really good result.
“After what happened against Valencia back in October we knew we had to do things differently.
“When you travel abroad, the footballing environment is very different and we went to Valencia we struggled and possibly thought it was going to be easier than what it turned out to be.
“We learned from that, though, and we came here, focused, and made sure that we came away with the right result this time around.”
Assessing the game, Vernam believes Calero’s second goal was crucial.
Delap’s men soaked up heavy spells of pressure from their hosts over the course of the second half and the 19-year-old believes Calero’s strike gave Derby the ‘cushion’ they needed.
He was also full of praise for the defensive ‘shift’ that each and every player put in to make sure Derby not only came away from the game with a win, but a clean sheet too.
He said: “The second goal was really important. It was a great finish by Ivan and came off the back of Callum Guy’s really well taken penalty.
“The second goal gave us a big cushion going into the second half and meant that we didn’t go into it having to force anything.
“We knew that we would have to dig in and work hard. A lot of us played 90 minutes, whilst we were also able to switch the team about as well.
“We dug in really well, everyone put in a great shift and to a man we were brilliant.”
Delap’s side will spend two more days out in the Portuguese Capital before returning to Derby late Friday evening.
From there, just over a week separates the side from the resumption of their Barclays U21 Premier League – Division 2 campaign, when they face Fulham at Craven Cottage on Monday 4 April, before facing Arsenal a week later.
Vernam says Derby will go into those games full of confidence and momentum on the back of their win over Sporting Lisbon.
“This was a massive win for us because it takes us into the next two games, against Fulham and Arsenal, with a lot of momentum,” Vernam said.
“We know there is a lot of importance on trying to win those two games and beating Lisbon has given everyone a big lift and gives us that confidence going into those two matches.”
