Derby County Under-21s progressed through to the semi-finals of Derbyshire Senior Cup after the most incredible penalty shootout victory over Alfreton Town on Wednesday evening.
The young Rams were 5-2 down with 88 minutes on the clock but two fine strikes from Kido Taylor-Hart, which saw him complete his hat-trick, and a header in the very last second of the game from Darren Robinson saw the tie go to penalties.
Five flawless spot-kicks from Pat Lyons’ side followed to complete the most incredible turnaround at the Impact Arena.
The hosts nearly went in front within the opening five minutes when a long-throw met the head of Tom Denton and only a superb save from Harry Evans denied him.
Evans was forced into action again soon after when a quick free-kick caught the young Rams napping. The ball was laid off to Danny Preston who struck well from the edge of the box but the goalkeeper was equal to it and pushed it wide for a corner.
The young shot-stopper was extremely busy in the opening 15 minutes and was again responsible for keeping the scores level when his outstanding save kept out the header of Bailey Hobson.
The young Rams finally got a foothold in the game and were able to score with their first attempt of the night. Taylor-Hart found a bit of space 25 yards out and his shot squirmed under the arms of the diving Jake Askew to give Derby the lead.
It was two just five minutes later and this time Askew could do nothing about the strike. Sonny Blu Lo-Everton with a superb effort from the edge of the box that left the Alfreton keeper with no chance.
Whilst Derby had taken the lead against the run of play, the home side then halved the deficit in similar fashion. A cross wasn't dealt with and Dearle rose highest to head past Evans.
Alfreton would be expected to come out firing after the break and that they did - Denton equalising within five minutes of the restart. A ball into the box wasn't dealt with and it sat up kindly for the big striker to volley home from close range.
The turnaround was complete for the hosts on the hour mark when Ahmed Salam converted a penalty following a foul in the box.
Denton scored his second and Alfreton's fourth just three minutes later when his looping header lofted over everyone and into the back of the net to give the young Rams a mountain to climb with under 30 minutes left to play.
Alfreton were relentless after the break and added a fifth through Hobson. James Oliver got away down the right and crossed for Hobson who headed home past a helpless Evans.
Lyons' side kept pushing and could have got a third but for a superb save from Askew denying Taylor-Hart with a great fingertip stop.
They did get a third before time was up and it was indeed that man Taylor-Hart. He got in behind on the right and fired a superb effort into the far corner.
It looked to be just a consolation but less than 60 seconds later Derby got a fourth and Taylor-Hart had his hat-trick! He nipped past his man in the middle of the park and unleashed a brilliant effort into the bottom left corner.
Four minutes of additional time were signalled and the young Rams incredibly equalised in the last second of the game through Robinson to send the tie to penalties.
The youngsters showed a calmness beyond their years when stepping up for the shoot-out with all five of Lo-Everton, Bartosz Cybulski, Owen Oseni, Taylor-Hart and Dajaune Brown scoring to send Derby through to the semi-final!
The Teams
Alfreton Town: Askew (GK), Teale (Thewlis 64’) (Branson 77’), Preston (Clackstone 48’), Butterfield, Smith, Dearle, Salam, Lund, Denton, Oliver, Hobson
Substitutes not used: Willis (GK), Rhead
Derby County U21s: Evans (GK), Oduroh (C), Grewal-Pollard (Brown 71’), Robinson, Solomon (Bates 71’), Cox, Taylor-Hart, Ibrahim (Moloney 71’), Cybulski, Lo-Everton, Vigar
Substitutes not used: Oseni, Roberts