Report: Magpies 3-3 Derby County U21

 

The Magpies made it five points from their two National League Cup ties so far with a shootout victory over Derby County Under 21s at York Road on Tuesday night. 

 

The ninety minutes itself rather lived up to the old ‘game of two halves’ cliché. United were very much on top in the first period against the young Rams. Inside the first five minutes, Zac Bell’s cross from the right was glanced over the top by Tobi Sho-Silva. The big striker’s moment would come, howeve,r as he was Johnny-on-the-spot to stretch decisively for the loose ball after a delicious free-kick from Sam Barratt came back off the post. 

 

It was a good night for Joseph Ajose in a United line-up which showed ten changes to the exhausting two-hour FA Cup tie on the Saturday. From a deflected Barratt cross, Joseph timed his run to the far post to perfection to head Maidenhead two ahead. It could have been three before the break when another Barratt free-kick was well cleared at the far post. From the resulting corner, the returning Remy Clerima’s header came back off the crossbar albeit a free-kick had been awarded. 

 

The second period was only three minutes old when Derby began their fight back. A corner was scrambled off the line by Sho-Silva but Lennon Wheeldon crashed home the loose ball. Just after the hour mark, the Rams levelled it up when Darren Robinson headed another corner home at the far post. The pendulum appeared to swing back towards Maidenhead with twenty minutes remaining when the visitors were careless in possession and Ajose squeezed a shot home at the near post. Back came Derby, however, and within three minutes a ball from the right was nudged back into the danger zone by substitute Joseph Osong for Harry Hawkins to bury a splendid effort. The visitors nearly won the game at the death when the dangerous Osong struck a post. 

 

A point apiece and the game went into a shootout to determine which side would take a bonus point. United went first, and the sides exchanged twelve successful kicks with Sho-Silva, Will de Havilland, Ruben Carvalho, Casey Pettit, Owen Cochrane and Ajose converting Maidenhead’s kicks at the Canal End. Zac Bell struck athe post with his kick, but both Hawkins and Darren Robinson saw their subsequent efforts kept out by Harvey Collins with Academy prospect Josh McMenemy converting his kick to secure a 7-6 shoot-out win. 

 

Magpies: Collins, Bell, Carvalho, Ferdinand (Dundas, 46’), Sho-Silva, Hale (McMenemy, 85’), Cochrane, Clerima (de Havilland, 64’), Massey, Barratt (Pettit, 74’), Ajose.  

 

Rams: Thompson, Perry, Gill, D.Robinson, Rooney, K.Robinson, Turley (Spencer, 62’), Hawkins, Ilsamni (Osong, 62’), Wheeldon, Allen (Eames, 78’).  

 

Attendance: 145