Derby Men’s 1st XI 3-1 Cambridge Men’s 1st XI: Hosts still unbeaten with yet another victory
Words by Katie Hatton.
Derby Men’s 1st XI continued their unbeaten start to the season with a 3-1 win over Cambridge Men’s 1st XI thanks in part to a brilliant Elijah Laka performance.
Although, the game certainly did not start as expected as the visitors were awarded a penalty within a few minutes of kick off. Nick Gallagher made no mistake and put his side in front with a composed finish.
Derby soon put the disappointment of the opener behind them and went in search of an equaliser and that is exactly what they managed to find. Tadaes Madej manufactured a yard of space on the right-hand side and drove at the away side before playing the ball into Laka who pulled the sides level.
Within 20 minutes, the hosts had turned the game on its head and it was a fantastic strike from Callum Jenkins which put them in front as he arrowed an effort from distance into the back of the net.
Cambridge remained strong despite being a goal down but struggled to gain regular possession of the ball with the home side dominating proceedings. Derby almost doubled their advantage just before the half-time break but the post kept out Lewis Belgrave’s low strike.
The second half started how the first half ended with Derby firmly on top pushing for the goal that would all-but confirm their victory. They managed to find it 10 minutes after the interval with a penalty of their own. Laka was brought down in the 18-yard box and he dusted himself down to power the spot kick past the goalkeeper and into the net.
The hosts had their tails up with the two-goal cushion and pushed for more goals but they failed to find another with Laka and Belgrave both missing chances in the latter stages. The referee blew the whistle to signal an end to the game with Derby maintaining their great start to the season.
