"I Thought We Were Magnificent"

Derby County Under-18s' manager Justin Walker was delighted with his side’s performance after drawing 2-2 with Manchester City.

An 89th minute equaliser from Jordan Brown was enough to rescue the Rams a point at the City Football Academy.

Morgan Whittaker opened the scoring for the Under-18s as he rolled in Festy Ebosele's squared pass.

City’s Keke Simmonds scored a second-half brace to give the hosts the lead but Brown was on-hand to ensure a share of the spoils in Manchester.

Speaking to dcfc.co.uk, Walker said: “I thought we were magnificent.

“We asked the players to challenge themselves during the week in terms of taking some tactical detail on, in terms of playing a 3-5-2 and I thought they played magnificently, executed it really well and frustrated Man City.

“We created some really good chances and had some really good opportunities, their keeper has made a couple of fantastic saves and then they’ve gone down the other end and scored against the run of play really but the lads dug deep, showed a lot of character and got the rewards.”

Walker felt his side coped with the occasion well and should be proud of their performance.

“The lads should take confidence from today when they’re playing some of the best players from around the country and around the world really when you come to places like Manchester City," he said.

“I thought Jason Knight and Lee Buchanan were the two best players on the pitch today so it just goes to show that we’ve got some really top players.

The Rams’ Under-18s have picked up five points from their opening four Premier League – North fixtures, enjoying a good start to the league campaign.

“There’s only been one blip really in terms of challenging the players’ attitude and application,” Walker said.

“But as we’ve seen today the work ethic has been magnificent. The subs who’ve come on have contributed and there’s a real team togetherness that’s building right now and it’s quite exciting.”

Words: Andrew Haines