Derby got back to winning ways with a hard-fought victory over Tottenham on Friday night.
The goal, courtesy of Luke Thomas, was enough to separate the two teams in what had been an entertaining contest.
The pattern of play was set early with Tottenham hoarding possession and looking to find away though the Derby defence. Similar to the first team, Derby were content to sit back and try to hit Spurs on the break.
The wide pair of Thomas and Alex Babos, always willing to do their fair share of defensive work, were quick to move forward with the ball. Thomas in particular was a constant menace with his direct charges at the Tottenham defence.
Tottenham probed for an opening in the Derby defence, and found it when striker Ryan Loft dropped into the space between defence and midfield to pick up the ball. With a couple of nice turns he got away from the centre back pairing of Jason Shackell and Ethan Wassall, but he scuffed his shot into the grateful arms of Josh Barnes.
Derby looked at their most threatening when they pressed high up the pitch, depriving the Tottenham defence of time on the ball. Several times they nicked the ball from the opposition and flashed dangerous balls across the face of goal that only needed a touch to go in.
This was how they got the best chance of the first half. Emil Riis Jakobson forced Luke Amos back towards his own penalty area. He failed to see Callum Guy stood in front of him and he gave the ball away. Guy fired the ball over, when he had time to take a touch and pass it into the net.
However, there was a frightening amount of space available to the Tottenham midfield when they managed to bypass Derby’s high press, so it was perhaps sensible that Derby dropped deep again in the second half.
Derby went back to trying to hit their opponents on the break and this paid off when they scored.
Wassall, whose passing from defence had been impressive, lifted the ball over the top for Thomas, who charged at the retreating defence. At the edge of the box he played a neat one-two with Babos and his first time shot was deflected over the helpless Brandon Austin in the Tottenham net.
This knocked the stuffing out of Spurs and they never really looked like getting an equaliser. Aside from Marcus Edwards’ curling free kick that was well kept out by Barnes, Derby marshaled them well and had chances to score more goals.
Wassall’s header from a corner was impressively blocked on the line, while Thomas’ goal bound curling shot was deflected wide.
The victory moved Derby up to sixth in the PL2 table, while Tottenham stayed in eighth position. Another victory towards beating the odds and staying in the league for another season.
Man of the Match: Luke Thomas
A standout performer for the U23s this season, Thomas kept up his fine form with an all action performance. He was at the heart of Derby’s most dangerous attacks and worked hard when tracking back. He can’t be too far off a call-up to the first team based on his recent performances.
DCFC Weekly 