WANDERERS under-18s bounced back from defeat to Derby County with a deserved draw at Manchester City on Saturday.

David Lee’s youngsters went into the game at City’s training ground off the back of a 6-1 home loss to Derby and were facing a side that inflicted a similar heavy defeat on home soil earlier in the season when the Blues won 7-0 at the Eddie Davies Academy.

There was no such demolition job this time around as the young Whites stood firm to earn a goalless draw.

The closest the visitors came to breaking the deadlock saw Will Abbotts denied twice – first when his header from eight yards was well saved by City stopper Kjetil Haug and when he had an effort blocked early in the second period.

Wanderers were stubborn at the back and resisted everything Jason Wilcox’s hosts threw at them.

City thought they had nicked a win inside the final 10 minutes but Manu Garcia’s effort was chalked off for offside.

Then the Whites survived a late penalty shout to deservedly earn a point in the FA U18 Premier League North Group clash.

Lee said: “We played very well on the day, working hard to press the opponents.

“We had a good structure to the team shape and it worked well against a technically good City team.

“We had two really good chances and our corners were a constant threat, with us coming close on several occasions.

“We competed well and the players responded well to the week’s training in preparation for this game.

“Each player was solid in his performance, matching their individual opponents throughout the game.”