REPORT: West Bromwich Albion U21 4-2 Derby County U21

Derby County Under-21s were defeated 4-2 away at West Bromwich Albion in Premier League 2 on Monday night.

Owen Eames opened the scoring after eight minutes at Damsen Park, but the game was levelled in extra time of the first half by Eseosa Sule.

The Baggies then gained the lead and secured it with three goals in the second half as Remar McNeill struck twice in the space of five minutes after the hour mark before Sule scored a fourth ten minutes later.

Cruz Allen claimed a consolation goal for the Rams when he converted in the seventh minute of added time.

Key Moments

It was a meaningful start from the Young Rams as they set the tempo with high pressing early on, looking to force mistakes from West Brom’s backline.

Not too long after the first minutes of the game, Derby found themselves ahead thanks to Eames. He breezed down the right-hand side, beating his defender with a nutmeg, before feeding the ball inside for a one-two with Cameron Wilson and then finding the far corner with a composed and precise finish.

Not long later, the home side suffered another scare as Rams’ First Team midfielder Oscar Fraulo drove through the heart of the pitch, evading all defenders and seeing his shot from the edge of the box denied by Baggies goalkeeper Maxwell Moses.

The pressure continued to mount for the home side as Fraulo picked up the ball centrally from a poor clearance and rushed his attempted through ball, trying to catch the Baggies’ defenders off guard.

Moments later, the home side began to grow into the game, creating several attacks leading to corners but not managing to get any reward from them. Striker Sule also began to cause a threat as he set up chances for both his wide men, who were unable to convert.

Then, on the stroke of half-time, Sule finished his only chance of the game from point-blank range following good wing play from McNeil, cutting the ball back for him to finish.

Derby started the second half strong with some crisp passing on the edge of the box, looking to regain their lead early on, with Eames’ deflected shot going out for a corner.

This strong start didn’t last long as McNeil popped up with a moment of brilliance against the run of play.

The attacker collected the ball from the right and drove inwards, dropping his shoulder twice before arrowing the ball across his body into the far corner to turn the game around and put West Brom 2-1 up.

Shortly after, McNeil doubled his goal tally for the night, after using his strength in the box to slot the ball into the far post.

Straight after conceding, Derby nearly minimised the deficit back to one, with a corner launched onto the head of Adisa Osayande being cleared off the line.

The game was put further out of the Rams' grasp when Souleyman Mandey chased a loose ball to go one-on-one with goalkeeper Harry Evans. Mandy unselfishly squared the ball to Sule, who also slotted in his second goal.

As the game went into stoppage time, Allen produced a moment of beauty for the Derby, receiving the ball 20 yards out and curling the ball into the top corner way out of the goalkeeper's reach, just before the final whistle went, adding a consolation goal to the result to see the match finish 4-2.

Team

Derby County Under-21s: Evans (GK), I Gordon, K Robinson (Perry 62), Offor (Banks 72), Osayande (C), Allen, Wilson, Fraulo (Tola 76), Oguntolu, Eames, Davidson (McAndrew 62).

Unused Substitutes: J Thompson (GK).