UNDER-18s coach David Lee was proud of his young Wanderers after they ended a run of five straight defeats with a battling goalless draw at Derby County.

The hosts enjoyed the better of the first half but the Whites squandered two glorious chances.

In the second half, the teams cancelled each other out and Wanderers left Derbyshire with a share of the spoils.

Lee said: “We worked hard to close down the opponents, battling to win the ball and then getting at them.

“This resulted in us creating two good chances, though Will Abbotts was guilty of missing them when he should have scored.

“It is a shame we couldn’t put them away as I don’t think anybody would have begrudged us all three points. We played with a good intensity, though, and it was pleasing to bring two under-16s on to give them a taste of under-18s football.

“It was a pleasing display, with development of the players key to their long-term success.”

Derby Academy manager Darren Wassall said: “We just edged the game, but we are all disappointed not to have won after how many chances we created in the first half.”

The U18s are back on home turf on Saturday when Manchester City visit the Eddie Davies Academy, kick off 11am.