Craig Short was thrilled with the character that Derby County’s Under-23s showed as they came from two goals down with 15 minutes to go to draw 3-3 with Swansea City in Premier League 2 – Division One on Monday night.
With Derby 3-1 down, Luke Thomas saw a deflected strike find the net before Swansea midfielder Adam King inadvertently lobbed his own goalkeeper from inside the area to level the scores as he tried to clear Mason Bennett’s cross.
The Rams were on the back foot for most of the night, and Short was delighted with the way that the team fought their way back into the game, especially after a sub-standard opening period.
He told RamsTV: “We were disappointed with our first half, I thought they were more physical and we’ve found that recently against the likes of Everton and Dinamo Zagreb.
“We went there earlier in the season and had a lot of possession, but the game was nowhere near the tempo that it was tonight.
“They were high-tempo and very physical so we had to change in the second half, and you often get a reaction after half-time.
“The one thing that Darren and Pat want to have from all of their teams is character and a determination not to roll over, and you saw that in the second half.”
Several experienced names were included in the starting eleven at St George’s Park, with Jonathan Mitchell, Jason Shackell, Jamie Hanson, Ikechi Anya and Mason Bennett all lining up for Darren Wassall’s side.
Bennett in particular caught the eye, as he equalised early in the first half before his positive run late in the game led to Derby earning a share of the points.
Short also highlighted the performance of Kyron Stabana, who adapted to an unfamiliar central midfield role.
He said: “Mason came in at centre-forward and did really well, I think their two centre-backs knew that they were in a game tonight and credit to him for leading the line really well.
“His physicality shone through, we know that he’s got pace and his header was a good goal from Ikechi’s cross.
“He’s got that physicality for when he steps up to join Gary and the first team, he’ll have no problem coping with that side of the game.
“Kyron had to go and play in midfield and I thought he did really well and he had a hand in the first goal.”
