3/1 To Win
Darren Wassall believes that his players are now being rewarded for their ‘excellent’ performances after Derby County’s Under-23s ended Liverpool’s winning streak with a 2-0 victory at St George’s Park.
Liverpool came into the game as the early Premier League 2 Division 1 pacesetters after winning all six of their opening games, but goals from Charles Vernam and Alex Babos secured a superb, and deserved, three points for the Rams.
Wassall’s side have now won four on the spin and he thinks that the results are fully deserved following a string of impressive displays.
Speaking to RamsTV, he said: “The performances have been excellent all season, we haven’t got the points that we thought we deserved at times but we’re starting to get the rewards.
“Going into the game against the league leaders, with six wins from six, we knew that it was going to be a big task.
“That’s four on the trot now, and to beat Manchester United and Liverpool in our last two league games is a credit to all of the players, they all put in a great shift.”
The conditions proved to be a huge obstacle for both sides, with immense wind preventing both defences from clearing their lines effectively.
Derby held firm when playing against the elements and then took advantage in the second half with the wind behind them, and Wassall was delighted with the way his side dealt with the unusual weather.
He said: “The lads have handled the occasion brilliantly and the conditions even better because it was tough out there, people won’t realise how bad it was.
“To go in at half time with a clean sheet was exactly what we needed and in the second half we showed our ability on the break to go and score two goals.”
Jason Shackell and Alex Pearce started at the heart of the defence and Wassall hailed the pair for their performances.
He added: “I want to praise the first team players that came in, Pearce and Shackell led by example and spurred everybody on.”
