3/1 To Win
Pat Lyons felt all of Derby County Under-23s’ qualities were on show as they held their nerve to record a crucial 2-1 win over Manchester United.
Goalless at the half-time interval, Jason Shackell broke the deadlock at Leigh Sports Village with an instinctive flick only for Darren McIntosh-Buffonge to level matters less than two minutes later.
However, Darren Wassall’s men recomposed themselves and claimed a deserved three points as Offrande Zanzala turned in Calum Macdonald’s corner with 17 minutes remaining to score his second goal of the campaign.
Assessing the game, Lyons, Derby’s senior professional development phase coach, was particularly pleased with how many chances the players created against a side like Manchester United, as well as the resilience they showed to compose themselves after the hosts’ sucker punch.
He also highlighted how regrouping at half-time spurred the Rams on to claim their second Premier League 2 Division 1 win of the 2017/18 campaign.
Lyons told RamsTV: “We were excellent in the first half and created so many good opportunities. To be fair, their ‘keeper made some great saves and we were just disappointed to come into half time with the scoreline at 0-0.
“We could have very easily scored three or four and to create that many chances against a team like Manchester United was really pleasing.
“We told the players at half-time that they couldn’t look back at the chances they had missed. They had to keep looking forward and keep their tempo high.
“They were there for the taking and we made them pay in the second half.
“We knew we would be a threat from set pieces and Jason got the opening goal, which was great. What was disappointing was that we didn’t touch the ball really for three or four minutes after it and we let them back in the game.
“We showed great character and resilience to come back out again and Offrande has scored a great header from another set piece. We managed to hold on, quite comfortably, after that.”
The Rams’ Under-23s now have a break in their Premier League 2 campaign and won’t play a League game until they face Liverpool at St George’s Park in the middle of October.
Assessing the season so far, Lyons is pleased with many of the aspects that his players have displayed and reiterated that Derby can count themselves unlucky not to have more points on the board.
“If we look at the season, we have been very good in and out of possession, with our attitude and our work rate and we did it again tonight,” he said.
“It was about time that we started taking some points and you could see at the end, with how hard they were working to keep the ball out of the net, just how much they wanted it.
“That was another big positive.
“We weren’t happy with the first half performance against Everton. The second half was much, much, better and we took that into tonight. We’ve had two tough games in a week and came away with three points.
“We have had a decent start and we are getting better with every passing game.”
