Youthful Foxes Up To Second After Derby Success
The Foxes, unbeaten in 11 and up to second in Premier League 2, were reduced to 10 men with four minutes remaining, but already had a two-goal cushion over the Rams.
A strong line-up from the hosts, which included Ikechi Anya and Darren Bent, were ultimately defeated by City’s high-tempo style, a trademark of their excellent 2017/18 campaign so far.
Derby U23s 0 Leicester City U23s 2
Watch all the action from the Development Squad's trip to Pride Park.
It took just 23 minutes for the Foxes to open the scoring. Steve Beaglehole’s side, who themselves had first team stars Ahmed Musa and Eldin Jakupović, deserved their lead.
Connor Wood's corner eventually fell kindly for Knight, who fired home from close range in Derbyshire. Just before the break, Musa rattled the crossbar too.
Four minutes after the restart, the Foxes did double their advantage. Musa crossed for Kaba Sherif to finish wonderfully and set Leicester on their way to a sixth league success.
A second booking later came for Kaba Sherif, but Beaglehole’s visitors had already done the damage during another assured, impressive outing on the road.
City are now second in PL2, two points clear of champions Everton and four adrift of leaders Liverpool, although both have a game in hand.
The details...
Derby: Barnes, MacDonald, Bogle, Bateman, Lowe, Guy, Anya (Zanzala 78), Bennett (Ris Jakobsen 85), Hanson (Cover 67), Babos, Bent.
Subs not used: Ravas, Walker.
City: Jakupović, Hughes, Knight, Pascanu, Wood, Choudhury (c), Kaba Sherif, Musa (Johnson 87), Gordon (Dewsbury-Hall 80), Thomas, Muskwe (Eppiah 75).
Subs not used: Bramley, Martis.
Goals: Knight 23, Kaba Sherif 49
Referee: Neil Hair