Defender Eiran Cashin is still on a high after making his full league debut in Derby County’s 1-0 victory over Peterborough United at Pride Park Stadium on Saturday.
The 20-year-old played the full 90 minutes as his fellow Academy graduate Louie Sibley came off the bench to score a dramatic winner in the second minute of additional time to secure a valuable three points.
The win ensured the Rams leapfrogged their opponents in the Sky Bet Championship table, and they remain five points behind Reading, who occupy the place outside the relegation places, after their own 3-2 victory against Preston North End at Deepdale.
Cashin, who has risen through the youth ranks, was handed his full debut by manager Wayne Rooney for Saturday’s crucial win.
With Richard Stearman serving the final game of his three-match suspension and Lee Buchanan sidelined with a minor knock, it allowed the young defender an opportunity to step up, and he did not let anyone down.
He was assured in his performance, alongside experienced defender Curtis Davies, as they shut their opponents out and helped the Rams to a much-needed clean sheet.
The centre-back is pushing to make it back-to-back league starts on Wednesday night as the Rams entertain Millwall at Pride Park Stadium (7:45pm kick-off).
“I’m still on a high,” Cashin admitted, chatting to RamsTV. “I enjoyed the moment on Saturday with family and friends but I can’t get ahead of myself. There are a lot of games coming up so I have enjoyed it - but it’s back to business.
“I found out I was starting last Thursday. It was a shock, really. I didn’t get told before, it was just in the team meeting.
“I was a bit nervous and I don’t think I’ve ever slept as much as I did on Thursday and Friday. I told my parents and my brothers and my uncles and cousins came to see me too, so it was nice.
“To walk out in front of more than 30,000 people on Saturday was unreal. It was a massive crowd.
“It’s always loud but when you step out in front of that many people who are shouting and cheering you on; it’s unreal. I can’t really explain the feeling that you get but it was incredible.”
Cashin has had to remain patient for his opportunity in the first team. He was restricted to only Under-23s appearances at the start of the season owing to an embargo placed on the Rams, which he understandably found frustrating.
However, he got his head down and continued to work hard and when the restrictions were lifted, he came off the bench in the 89th minute against Blackpool in December to see out a 1-0 victory, while the defender made a further three appearances from the bench against West Bromwich Albion, Sheffield United and Huddersfield Town before being handed his full league debut against Posh on Saturday.
He is now the eighth member of Derby’s 2018/19 Under-18s squad which won the Premier League National Title to be handed his full debut in recent seasons.
“I remember back when we were in the Under-18s, Justin Walker mentioned that it was one of the most senior dressing rooms that he had worked with at an Under-18s level,” he said.
“The maturity and talent that was in that group was really goodand hopefully you can see it has pushed us on; whether it be here or somewhere else.
“I was first training with the club when I was around seven or eight years old with the likes of Louie Sibley and Tyree Wilson, and then I signed on at Under-11s. I’ve been here eight or nine years now and worked my way through the Academy, so it was great to get my chance.”
And he was pleased to see his mate snatch the late winner at the weekend.
“It was a great feeling when Louie scored,” he explained.
“The whole game was really action packed and had things going on so it was hard to deal with sometimes when you’re playing when you are 11v10 and then it goes to 10v10 and that can affect you, but I don’t think it did.
“I thought we still stayed on top, dominated the ball and that’s all we could do.”
The Rams now face Millwall on Wednesday night aiming for back-to-back home victories and, encouragingly, Derby’s form at Pride Park Stadium has been impressive this season.
Derby have picked up 30 points on home turf over the course of the campaign and with 14 games in the Sky Bet Championship remaining, the defender knows there is still a long way to go but admitted there is confidence that the club can pull off a miracle.
“Everyone is believing,” he admitted. “We don’t want to get ahead of ourselves because there are loads of games coming up and there are still points to be earned but we are starting to believe.
“Everyone around the club is, fans, staff, players up and down the Academy, everyone is believing we can do it and everyone is on the same page.”
