Watch the match highlights as Derby County Under-18s were narrowly beaten 3-2 by Tottenham Hotspur in their U18 Premier League Cup opener at Moor Farm.
Goals from Remi Harvey and Zayne Blake sparked a late fightback but Derby County Under-18s saw their Under-18 Premier League Cup campaign begin with defeat to Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday afternoon.
Joel Vidal-Philbert's first-half double and Ollie Boast's second-half strike had put the visitors 3-0 ahead before the Rams mounted a late charge at Moor Farm Training Centre.
Euan Griffiths and Theo Olofingbuaro threatened the away goal early on, with the former driving an attempt just wide after firing across the face of goal in the opening 10 minutes.
But Tottenham established control on the half-hour, as Conall Glancy collected neatly in midfield, before his strike – parried by Spencer O’Neill – was seized upon by Philbert to add his first of the afternoon.
He soon had his second, squeezing in a left-footed strike at the near post after being played through by the lively Armend Muslika.
HALF-TIME: Derby County U18 0-2 Tottenham Hotspur U18
It was 3-0 three minutes after the restart. Philbert was involved again, drilling a low cross from left to right, where Ollie Salter’s shot was nodded in on the goal-line by Oliver Boast – despite the best efforts of Ollie Lukic, who attempted to hook the ball clear as it neared the line.
Derby threatened from distance on several occasions, as Kieran Clarke, Troy Ogedengbe and Olofingbuaro all came close to pulling a goal back.
But it was Blake’s introduction which breathed new life into the Rams heading into the final fifteen minutes of the contest.
The forward was involved straight away, winning back possession and letting fly from 20 yards, forcing Mikel Jack into action to divert the ball behind for a corner.
The next strike from distance was a telling one, as Harvey struck a thunderous effort from outside the area into the top corner to give Bradley Johnson’s side renewed belief.
Those hopes intensified less than two minutes later as Blake got on the end of a well worked move to make it 3-2. Harvey was the instigator, threading through to Clarke down the right, whose cutback was met by the onrushing Blake to set up a tense finish.
Derby probed for a late leveller with a series of set pieces but couldn’t beat Jack for a third time as the visitors held on for all three points.
Team
Derby County U18: O’Neill Thomas, Watmon, Lukic, Crolla (C) (Neal 74’), Stokes (Clarke 34’), Griffiths (Blake 75’), Myers, Nessling (Ogedengbe 46’), Harvey, Olofingbuaro (Fearon 84’).
Unused Substitues: Tye (GK), Neal, Ward.
Next Up
Derby County U18s are back in action on Saturday lunchtime (12:30pm kick-off), travelling to Middlesbrough in the Under-18 Premier League.