3/1 To Win
Late goals from Max Bird and Lewis Walker led Derby County's Under-23s to a stunning 3-1 victory against Everton at Goodison Park.
Luke Thomas opened the scoring on his 19th birthday, but Darren Wassall's side were pegged back by Shayne Lavery's diving header.
Not to be denied, Bird and Walker stunned Everton with goals in the last 15 minutes to earn a first win since November in Premier League 2 - Division 1.
It took Derby less than 10 minutes to break the deadlock, with Alex Babos’ ball over the top sending Thomas clean through, and when faced one-on-one with Mateusz Hewelt, he made no mistake in side-footing the ball home.
Everton played with intensity and they pressed high from the outset, with most of the problems they caused coming in the air through the towering figure of Fraser Hornby.
The No.9 had a good header saved at the near post by Josh Barnes immediately after the opening goal of the contest, before left-back Lewis Gibson nodded just wide seven minutes later.
The best chance of the half for the home side came midway through the first period, as Hornby rose highest once again to meet David Henen’s cross, but he thundered his header against the post when he looked certain to score.
Moments prior to the break, Antony Evans sent another headed effort towards goal but again, Barnes was equal to it.
Just two minutes into the second half, Thomas went inches away from doubling the lead.
The winger took inspiration from the ongoing Winter Olympics to slalom down the right-hand side, but Hewelt stood up well to touch the close-range effort just wide of the near post.
From the resulting corner, Babos struck an outrageous volley just off target, but four minutes after the hour mark, the home side levelled.
Lavery had only been on the pitch two minutes and with one of his first touches of the ball, he planted a diving header past Barnes, although the Derby ‘keeper did get a hand to it.
The Rams rallied though, and they restored the lead with 12 minutes to play when Bird fired a fine first-time strike into the far bottom corner.
It got even better for Derby just moments later, as a lightning breakaway including neat work from substitute Morgan Whittaker and Babos finished with Walker tapping into an empty net at the far post.
Everton: Hewelt; Markelo (Lavery, 62’), Feeney, Collins (Ouzounidis, HT), Gibson; Evans, Grant, Denny, Henen; Sambou (Baxter, HT), Hornby.
Substitutes not used: Hilton, Bowler.
Derby County: Barnes; Bogle (Taylor, 72’), Wassall, Cover, Karic; Bird, Bateman; Thomas, Babos, Cresswell (Whittaker, 68’); Walker.
Substitutes not used: Ravas, Hunt, Knight.
Major Moment…
Derby came under sustained pressure after conceding the equaliser, but when they had a rare sight of goal, they took it emphatically.
Whittaker was lively after coming on for Cameron Cresswell and when he won an aerial duel, Bird strode onto the knock down and drilled a fine finish into the far corner to restore the lead.
Who Impressed…
Joe Bateman has been deployed in midfield over the past few weeks, after spending the first half of the season at centre-back, and he was outstanding under the lights on Merseyside.
Along with Bird, he provided a strong shield in front of the back four, whilst also showing composure on the ball when Everton pressed high.
What’s Next…
Two more games on the road follow for the Under-23s.
First up is the trip to Middlesbrough for the final Group A fixture in the Premier League Cup this Friday, before they face Tottenham Hotspur in the league a week later (Friday 2nd March) kick-off: 12pm.
