Derby Men’s 1st XI 0-3 East Anglia Men’s 1st XI: Hosts fall to first defeat of the season
Words by Max Barton and image by Jude McMichan.
Derby Men’s 1st XI were beaten for the first time this season as they fell to a 3-0 defeat at home to East Anglia Men’s 1st XI. Three first-half goals including a brace from CJ Seeks were enough to see out the victory for the away side.
The game began at a fast pace with both sides having early chances. The first big opportunity of the game fell to East Anglia’s Yasha Najafi, who latched onto a loose ball on the edge of the box and smashed his effort against the base of the left post.
Two minutes later it was Derby’s turn to attack. Left back Tom Eccleshall drove down the wing before squaring to Tadeas Madej who blazed his effort over the bar.
Harry Knights managed to break the deadlock with 12 minutes on the clock as he was well placed to power a header into the back of the net from Jake Conway’s corner.
Conway soon picked up his second assist of the game as his lofted through ball was dinked over the keeper by Seeks to double East Anglia’s lead.
Things went from bad to worse for the home side as Seeks netted his second of the game. An error from Derby’s Jiri Boula saw Najafi regain possession and square the ball to Seeks who slotted home at the far post.
The second half yielded few opportunities for either of the two sides. The best chance of the half fell Derby’s way as Boula’s long-range effort forced a fine save out of East Anglia’s stopper Tom Smith.
The hosts were unable to disrupt a thoroughly professional performance over the 90 minutes and came away from the fixture empty-handed.
