Derby County’s Under-21s were beaten 3-0 at Leeds United in their penultimate Premier League 2 fixture of the 2023/24 season on Monday.
Joseph Snowdon’s double and Reuben Lopata-White’s header, with all the goals coming in the first half, condemned Jake Buxton’s side to defeat at Thorp Arch.
Derby had an early chance to take the lead when Tony Weston fired a shot goalwards, but he was denied by Leeds goalkeeper Dani van den Heuvel.
Snowdon slotted home the opener for Leeds after 22 minutes with a composed finish from just inside the penalty area.
He added his and Leeds’ second three minutes later by sneaking in at the far post to fire low beyond Jack Thompson in the Derby goal.
Lopata-White headed in a third for the home side just after the half hour mark with a glancing effort into the far corner from a free-kick.
Weston had the Rams’ best chance of the second half as they looked to find a way back into the game, but he crashed a powerful effort against the crossbar from inside the box.
The Under-21s return to action with a trip to Wigan Athletic in the Semi-Final stage of the Central League Cup on Friday 26th April (2pm kick-off), before rounding off their Premier League 2 campaign at Pride Park Stadium against Everton on Monday 29th April (7pm kick-off).
Derby County Under-21s: Thompson (GK), Radcliffe, Moloney, Hawkins (Gough 68), Cox, K Robinson, Nto (McAndrew 58), Stepien-Iwumene (Osayande 74), Weston, Wheeldon (Oguntolu 74), Allen.
Substitutes Not Used: Shattell (GK).
