Archived News from November 2016
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DERBY COUNTY U23 EFL TROPHY PREVIEWS
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Match preview: Derby County vs Stags
mansfieldtown.net, 7th November 2016 Checkatrade Trophy, 19:45, 08/11/16 DERBY U21 V MANSFIELD Mansfield Town travel to the iPro Stadium to face Derby County in their final Checkatrade Trophy Northern Group E match on Tuesday evening (7.45pm) and this is your comprehensive guide to the fixture. A win at the iPro Stadium will see Stags qualify for the second round, regardless of the result in the other group match between Port Vale and Doncaster Rovers. Furthermore, a draw against the Rams will be enough for Stags to qualify should Doncaster claim maximum points against the Valiants. Team news Stags' boss Adam Murray has a full squad available to him, apart from defender George Taft who is still struggling with a hamstring injury. Also, the manager has confirmed that young defender Kieran Harrison will be included in the squad after a string of good performances for the youth team. If they are to follow the trend of their previous two Checkatrade Trophy fixtures, Derby will field a side made up of a mix of under 21 and fringe players from the first team squad. Last time out, they included forwards Andreas Weimann and Nick Blackman in their side, as well as a host of young starlets. Read more at http://www.mansfieldtown.net/fixtures-results/match-preview/index.aspx#llcrbsq4SmhhZC0Y.99 Recent form Stags exited the Emirates FA Cup at the first round stage on Saturday following a 2-1 defeat at home to Plymouth Argyle, despite dominating the match for large periods. Prior to that, Adam Murray's side saw their six-match unbeaten run come to an end after being defeated 2-1 by Stevenage at One Call Stadium. In their last Checkatrade Trophy fixture, Stags recorded an excellent 1-0 win away at Port Vale courtesy of a Matt Green goal after he came off the bench in the second half. The Rams were defeated 4-3 on penalties by Doncaster Rovers in their previous Checkatrade Trophy match. The game finished 2-2 after 90 minutes at the Keepmoat Stadium and Rovers gained the extra point by winning the shootout. In their most recent fixture, Derby's under 23s were defeated 1-0 at home to Hull City in their opening Premier League Cup match. ----------------- Checkatrade Trophy - Northern Group E 2016/17 # Team Pl W D L F A GD Pts 1 Doncaster 2 1 1 0 4 2 2 5 2 Port Vale 2 1 0 1 1 1 0 3 3 Mansfield 2 1 0 1 1 2 -1 3 4 Derby U21 2 0 1 1 2 3 -1 1 http://www.skysports.com/football/competitions/checkatrade-trophy/table ---------------- Wassall: 'All We Can Do Is Try And Get The Right Result' dcfc.co.uk, 7th November 2016, by DCFC Media Darren Wassall has set his sights on qualification when Derby County face Mansfield Town. Darren Wassall says the experiences his young Derby County players have gained over the last 14 games will set them up perfectly for when they take on Mansfield Town on Tuesday evening. The Rams return to Checkatrade Trophy action for their final crucial Northern Group E fixture to take on the Stags at the iPro Stadium, kick-off: 7:45pm. Derby go into the contest still holding a chance of qualifying to the knockout stages of the competition. Wassall’s side, who lost to Port Vale and drawn with Doncaster Rovers in the past two Checkatrade Trophy fixtures, need to beat the Stags and hope that Doncaster get the better of Port Vale at the Keepmoat Stadium. Ahead of tonight’s defining fixture, Wassall, Derby’s academy director, says getting that win is all that matters as they aim to prolong their stay in the competition. He told RamsTV: “We want to qualify. That scenario is out of our hands on this occasion because we are dependent on the other result, but we have got to make sure that we get our result right first and foremost against Mansfield. Read more at http://www.dcfc.co.uk/news/article/2016-17/wassall-all-we-can-do-is-try-and-get-the-right-result-3404490.aspx#or1zebytSUJji6bf.99 “Once again, we are playing at the iPro Stadium and it will be our third game there in eight days. We want to go through to the knockout stages. “Now, all we can do on Tuesday night is try and get the right result. It’s been a good competition for us and we want to continue in it. “At the start of the season, we wanted to test our young players against first team players as much as possible. “We have got the Premier League International Cup too, which means we’ve had the chance to face teams like Benfica and PSV. “We have already played against them and they were great experiences. In this competition, we have played the likes of Port Vale and Doncaster Rovers and now we will play Mansfield Town. “This competition has been the next step in our players’ development. It’s the first time that they would have played first team football if you like and they are seeing, first-hand, the standard that is required to be a success at League 1 and League 2 level.” Assessing his side’s Checkatrade Trophy journey so far, Wassall says his young players have shown great progress in their last two games. Following a last-gasp 1-0 defeat to League 1 side Port Vale in August, the Rams recovered from a goal down to secure a late 2-2 draw with Doncaster Rovers last month, before going on to lose in the penalty shootout that proceeded it. Wassall now wants his players to take that on and claim their first win in the competition when they take on Adam Murray’s side. He added: “The first game was a lesson to them, one that showed that the job is never done and that you need to concentrate until the very last minute. “We conceded a late goal from a set piece and naturally we were very disappointed about that. They took that experience on into the Doncaster game where they carried on right to the very end and got a deserved equaliser. “That has set them up nicely for Tuesday’s game against Mansfield. It will be a big occasion for them and I feel the last 14 games we’ve played will set them up perfectly for it. The level of opposition has gone up a notch. “We need to win the game first and foremost. The performance, of course, will be important, but on this occasion, it is the result that will be the most important. “We have to get the three points to stand any chance of going through. We need to make sure that we are at our very best against a very good Mansfield Town side.” ------------------ Stabana Looking To Build On Progress Against The Stags dcfc.co.uk, 7th November 2016, by DCFC Media Rebranded in the summer, the Checkatrade Trophy was given a makeover - one specifically that put precedence on giving England’s up and coming players the chance to thrive in the first team scene. Sixteen Category 1 academies were invited into the new look tournament and Derby County were one of them that jumped at the chance to take up such an opportunity. Kyron Stabana is just one of a number of the Rams’ young players that has only benefitted from playing in the Checkatrade Trophy. The young full back, who is undertaking his first year as a fully-fledged professional, has been a part of the Derby academy furniture since the age of seven. He has enjoyed a lot of success during that time, playing in a vast number of tournaments at club and international level, but this competition has offered him an experience that he has never had before. As was mentioned earlier, it has given him his first taste of the first team environment and just what it takes to make it in the world of professional football, having starred in both of the Rams’ previous two Checkatrade Trophy outings against Port Vale and Doncaster Rovers. “It’s been a great experience for us and the two games that we have played in already have typified just why we are in this competition,” Stabana said an in an exclusive interview with The Ram. Read more at http://www.dcfc.co.uk/news/article/2016-17/stabana-looking-to-build-on-progress-against-the-stags-3404556.aspx#TIFo3gqHDZFyxF6S.99 “As young players, we want to be playing in stadiums against senior players and it has been a big eye-opener into the standard of men’s football. A lot of us in this group haven’t had that before and our past two games have been great experiences for us. “These are players that play in the league every single week, that’s something we can only learn from. The standard is a lot more physical and the football is played at a higher tempo. That itself has been a great test, both physically and mentally. “The biggest difference, however, is the crowds. We have played in front of over a 1,000 people on both occasions already. That is completely new to anything we are used to and there was a real difference. “There has been a debate over the competition and whether academy category 1 sides should be playing in this competition. It’s a great chance at success for League 1 and League 2 teams, but from our point of view, it’s a huge learning curve. “All we have tried to do from the start is prove to others that we deserve to be in it. I feel like we have done that in the previous two games. We narrowly lost the first game at Port Vale, before we went on to earn a good draw over 90 minutes with Doncaster. “The last two games have come down to fine margins. One lapse in concentration cost us against Port Vale, but these games are here to help us learn and develop.” Tonight, Derby host local rivals Mansfield Town knowing that they could still qualify for the knockout stages of this year’s competition. Ahead of this evening’s game, the state of the table means the Rams must beat the Stags this evening whilst hope that Doncaster defeat Port Vale in the other fixture. Stabana believes Derby have nothing to lose against Adam Murray’s play-off chasing outfit at the iPro Stadium tonight, but says it is important that Derby’s young players build on the ‘promise and progress’ they have shown in their last two fixtures in the competition as they look to claim all three points. He added: “We know we can still qualify and it’s an exciting game for all of us. It’s a little bit of a rival game as well against Mansfield, but whilst it is out of our hands to begin with, we have still got a big opportunity of making it through to the next round. “It’s an advantage to us too that we get to play at the iPro Stadium. It will be third time in eight days that we have been here. “Mansfield still have every chance of qualifying too so we know that they will come with a strong squad. “All the pressure will be on them and we have got nothing to lose really. We are seen as underdogs because of our age, but we have shown promise and progress in our last two games and it would now be great to cap it off with a win against Mansfield.” -------------------- |
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