MATCH REPORT: Derby County U21 0-3 Norwich City U21

Derby County Under-21s were beaten 3-0 by Norwich City in Premier League 2 on Friday night.

The Rams entered the contest at the Proctor Cars Stadium off the back ofa 4-4 draw on the road with Fulham a week prior.

First team centre-back Curtis Nelson made his first outing since being sidelined with a long-term knee injury in January of this year - playing 60 minutes against the Canaries for the Under-21s in Matlock.

Norwich were dominant in the contest, doing well to limit Derby's chances, especially in the first half.

The visitors went in front after 24 minutes when a corner kick caused a goalmouth scramble and saw the ball ricochet off Owen Eames and into the net.

Johnson Osong came close to equalising when he struck from a tight angle after making space on the right wing, but saw his effort saved at the near post by goalkeeper Luis Lines.

Derby had similar chances in the opening stages of the second period as they looked to exploit space down the left flank.

Eames found space for a long-range effort which went over the bar, and then a tidy ball over the top by Rio Canoville allowed him to play a low cross to Lennon Wheeldon, who hit the target, but his effort was well saved by Lines.

Kenneth Aboh doubled the Canaries’ advantage after 62 minutes with a low strike into the bottom corner.

Norwich secured the victory in the last minute of the match when a quick passing move allowed Aboh to find Finley Welch at the far post to tap in the third goal.

Derby will look to bounce back from the defeat when they head to Lancashire to play Blackburn Rovers in Premier League 2 on Monday 10th November (7pm kick-off).

Team News

Derby County Under-21s: Kane (GK), Turley, Gough (T Gill 61), Tola, Nelson (Canoville 61), Osayande, Wilson, Allen, Wheeldon (Green 68), Eames, Osong (Wähling 68).

Unused Substitutes: Dzialuk (GK).

Post-Match Reaction

“It was a really disappointing second half,” Senior Professional Development Coach Danny Maye said after the game.

“It was clear after the game that the performance really hurt the players. They know they will need to be better than they were if they want to keep progressing to have careers in the game.

“We had enough of the ball to create chances but didn’t threaten them enough. There was a lack of movement behind and we were too comfortable playing in front of them.

“In the second half we looked too open as we chased the game. We did create more, but didn’t look clinical enough and ran out of ideas as the game went on. The lads are young, and it’s important they keep going and can learn from these experiences.”