3/1 To Win
Darren Wassall was delighted with the character of his young players after an inexperienced Derby County Under-23 side were defeated by Manchester City at Pride Park Stadium.
The visitors struck three times in the first half before putting the seal on their victory with a fourth in the second period, but a young Derby team fought hard until the end and were unfortunate not to get themselves on the scoresheet as the clock ticked down.
With Gary Rowett’s first team currently suffering with a series of injuries, five of Wassall’s regular starters were unavailable for the game; Jayden Bogle, Luke Thomas, Alex Babos, Lewis Walker and Joe Bateman.
Despite the result, Derby’s Academy Director was pleased with the way that the players who came into the side responded after a difficult first half.
He told RamsTV’s Matchday Live: “It was a big test of character in the second half, especially when you consider that we had two schoolboys playing tonight.
“At 3-0 down, I thought they handled it very well, they showed a lot of character and we deserved a couple of goals.
“You don’t want to get beat 4-0 at Pride Park but we have to be realistic, and we had five players withdrawn from the squad in the past 24 hours.
“Jayden Bogle and Luke Thomas have been training with the first team, which is brilliant for them.
“We lost Lewis Walker, Alex Babos and Joe Bateman from the squad, who have been outstanding.
“We have to take the positives from tonight and I think that the young lads will be a lot better off for it in the long run in terms of their development.
“We have got young players that are thought of very highly and they’ve had their first experience of Under-23s football, which is fantastic.”
Wassall felt that his side deserved to get themselves back into the game after the break.
He said: “It’s a good learning curve and they will be better for the experience, especially with the reaction in the second half.
“I thought they rolled their sleeves up and showed what they were made of.
“We told them to show some character, they couldn’t allow themselves to go under and they had to try and win the second half.
“We didn’t get the goals but Louie Sibley came on and was outstanding.”
Wassall also provided an update on the condition of Jonathan Mitchell, who was withdrawn early in the first half after a collision in the box.
He added: “He’s got a nasty cut to his lip. He took a stud to the lip so he’s had stitches and it looked quite nasty.”
