Derby County staged a staggering comeback from 4-1 down to draw 4-4 with Fulham’s under 21s in a end-to-end encounter at Motspur Park this evening.
Hayden Mullins’ side looked to have blown the young Rams with three goals in the first ten minutes. The hosts hit the front in the fourth minute through a sublime strike from Tom Olyott, who bent in a brilliant left footed effort from twenty yards out. The Irish winger then supplied Fulham’s second for Seth Ridgeon two minutes later with a wonderful through ball that the attacking midfielder converted from close range.
Ridgeon, celebrating his call-up to the England squad for next month’s Under-17 World Cup, scored his second three minutes by firing home from the edge of the box as the Whites looked rampant. At this stage, it simply seemed a matter of how many Fulham would score. Brave defending saw Ridgeon denied a hat-trick after Aaron Loupalo-Bi had seen a shot blocked inside the box. Jayden Quashie skied a shot at the end of a scintillating move involving Brad de Jesus, Macaulay Zepa and Ridgeon – and Derby gradually grew in confidence.
The visitors got a foothold in the contest and reduced their arrears just after the half hour mark when Cameron Wilson converted a clever cross from Cruz Allen and they looked threatening even though Quashie claimed his first under-21 goal before the break when he was the beneficiary of a dreadful defensive mistake that allowed the midfielder to lash past the stranded Sam Kane.
County were grateful for the half-time whistle and looked far more assured after a talking to from Danny Maye. They pulled a goal back ten minutes after the interval with Johnson Osong found the bottom corner with a lovely low shot and that goal seemed to transform the tone of a tie that had looked long over. Justin Oguntolu outsprinted de Jesus to get within shooting range but was thwarted by the intervention of Eddy Nsasi, but Fulham failed to heed the warning.
Derby gained real belief when substitute Lennon Wheeldon made it 4-3 with ten minutes left, following up to finish after Marco Underwood could only parry a strike from Oguntolu. The Rams kept pushing in five minutes of added time and referee George Lalfin pointed to the spot in the fourth minute when Underwood brought down Oguntolu as he scrambled to reach a loose ball. Jamie Wähling drilled home the spot-kick to gave Derby a deserved share of the spoils – and leave Mullins’ men to come to terms with squandering such a commanding position.
The under-21s, now fifth in the Premier League 2 table, will look to get back to winning ways when they travel to Reading on Saturday in a noon kick off.
FULHAM UNDER 21s (4-2-3-1): Underwood; Walters (Benchaita 72), de Jesus, Nsasi, Gofford; Nwoko, Quashie; Olyott (Ali Wahid 71), Zepa (Cooke 90+5), Ridgeon; Loupalo-Bi. Subs (not used): Kaiser, White.
BOOKED: Benchaita, Underwood, Quashie.
GOALS: Olyott (4), Ridgeon (6, 10), Quashie (42).
DERBY COUNTY UNDER 21s (4-2-3-1): Kane; Turley, Gough (Hawkins 65), Canoville, Osayande; Tola (Wähling 60), Allen; Osong (Wheeldon 65), Wilson, Eames; Oguntolu. Subs (not used): Smith, Dzialuk.
BOOKED: Gough, Tola, Eames.
GOALS: Wilson (32), Osong (55), Wheeldon (80), Wähling (90+4).
REFEREE: George Laflin.
