Derby County’s Under 23s recovered from a goal down to secure a 2-2 draw from a dramatic Premier League 2 Division 1 meeting with Chelsea in Aldershot on Monday evening.
Callum Guy’s goal was the only thing that separated the two sides after a tight first 45 minutes at the EBB Stadium, as he tucked in a loose ball after Charles Vernam’s penalty had been saved.
The Blues, however, bounced back in ruthless fashion after introducing Dujon Sterling and scored twice in as many minutes to turn the contest on its head, first through Jay Dasilva’s spot kick and then Iké Ugbo.
That didn’t last long either as the superb Farrend Rawson, Derby’s captain, rose highest to meet Guy’s corner and head the ball into the back of the net.
There was to be more drama minutes later as Dasilva was given his marching orders for a second yellow card, but the hosts still looked the more likely to claim three points in an end to end finale in Aldershot.
Before that, the first half had been a tight affair as Darren Wassall’s side, largely, sat back and soaked up pressure from a Chelsea team that began with intensity in abundance.
Dasilva looked particularly lively on the left for the Blues and posed a great challenge to Kyron Stabana, the Derby full back, who coped admirably during a difficult start to the game.
The hosts’ strong start only registered one clear effort on goal as Isaac Christie-Davies forced Jonathan Mitchell into a fine save with a strike from the edge of the box.
After a 15-minute period of protecting their own goal, Derby, gradually, worked their way back into the clash. Notably, Kurt Zouma was stepping up his recovery from a long-term injury in the game and played 45 minutes and the 21-year-old French defender was called upon to deny Mason Bennett a clean strike on goal after the Rams’ forward had seized on a clever pass from Kellan Gordon.
Mukhtar Ali and Ugbo had further efforts at the other end. The former bending his effort wide, whilst the latter forced Mitchell into an awkward save at his near post with a mean drive.
The hosts appeared to be ending the half stronger, but were dealt a big blow when Derby were awarded a penalty after Charles Vernam had been upended by an outstretched leg from Zouma.
Vernam assumed responsibility himself, but was denied by Bradley Collins, the Chelsea shot stopper, but with the ball loose, Guy stole a march to tuck the ball into the back of the net.
A goal down at the break, Chelsea responded by applying further heavy pressure on the Derby backline, with Sterling, the brother of Manchester City’s Raheem, playing a starring role as he was introduced in place of Zouma.
A constant menace down the right, he saw a dangerous low cross turned behind for a corner by the outstretched leg of Josh Lelan, the defender prodding the ball just past his own post.
Later, a combination of Calum Macdonald and Rawson denied the tricky wideman the chance to test Mitchell, but Chelsea continued to knock on the door and got their rewards via a second penalty call, this one a lot more dubious than Derby’s in the first half.
Dasilva assumed control and planted the ball to his left, sending Mitchell the wrong way in the process and no more than a minute later it was 2-1 as Ugbo’s low strike from inside the area had the beating of the Rams’ goalkeeper.
The pendulum swung once more. This time Derby hit back and levelled matters as Guy swung a corner into the area and Rawson kept up the visitors’ recent trend of being dangerous from set plays as he powered a header beyond Collins.
The drama showed no sign of letting up as Dasilva was given his marching orders, meaning Chelsea had 20 minutes to play with 10 men, but Derby never seized the initiative and instead played out the period safely.
It was nearly there undoing too as the hosts piled on the pressure, with Mason Mount going closest to stealing the three points with a drive that was deflected over.
Ali went close as well as he cracked a low first time effort through a crowd of bodies and forced a fine save out of Mitchell, but Derby held on to extend their unbeaten run to three games in Premier League 2 Division 1.
Chelsea U23s: Collins, Dabo, Zouma (Sterling, 46), Tomori, T. Chalobah, Scott, Ali, Sammut (Muheim, 80), Ugbo, Christie-Davies (Mount, 74), Dasilva
Substitutes not used: Baxter, Maddox
Derby County U23s: Mitchell, Stabana, Rawson, Lelan, Macdonald (Cover, 63); Hanson, Guy, Elsnik (Babos, 77); Gordon, Vernam, Bennett (Walker, 90)
Substitutes not used: Ravas, Jakobsen
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