A disappointing season for United's Under 23s continued with this loss at bottom side Derby County. Although a minor fightback reduced the margin of defeat, the Reds remain in unfamiliar territory in the table. Having been champions in three of the last four years, the Reds go into the run-in with relegation still an unthinkable possibility.
It was the Reds who took the lead when Gribbin's expertly placed free kick, awarded after Mitchell had been felled following a surge down the left, beat the keeper at his near post. For a spell it looked most likely that United would increase their lead but Babos's superb strike from the edge of the area drew Derby level and, before half-time, Elsnick rose to meet Bennett's cross from the left and put the Rams ahead.
Although United had chances, Derby approached the second half like a team determined to add to their lead and the breakthrough came when Elsnick grabbed his second thanks to a wicked deflection off Tuanzebe that saw the ball loop over O'Hara to give the keeper no chance.
It got worse moments later when Gordon pounced on a loose ball on the edge of the area to drill the ball under O'Hara for Derby's fourth goal. A fifth came when Elsnick capitalised on increasingly gaping holes in the United defence to lay on a simple ball for Jakobsen to score after the same player had blasted over only minutes earlier.
The Reds made the scoreline look a little more respectable when Redmond latched onto a cross from Olosunde to strike the post before following up to score from the rebound. With three minutes left Kehinde scored United's third after he was put through by Gribbin, whose increasing maturity on the ball was one of the few positives Nicky Butt can take out of this match.
Other than that, however, it was a pretty grim night for the Reds. The result takes Derby off the foot of the table and leaves United only three points clear of the Premier League 2 relegation places with six games remaining.
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