Paul Jewell admitted his Rams were fortunate to earn themselves a place in the quarter-final of the Carling Cup after being pushed all the way by a spirited Leeds United side.

Goals from Tito Villa and Nathan Ellington had put Derby in command by the 17th minute at Pride Park but that prompted the visitors to go on and dominate the game.

They pulled one back before half-time through Luciano Becchio and enjoyed long spells of possession, though they only really forced Roy Carroll into one serious save.

"At 17 minutes it was one-way traffic but after that Leeds dominated and give them credit for that," the gaffer said.

"Roy has made one great save in the second half and they have also hit the post.

"In between the two boxes they battered us for 70 minutes but in the first 15 we also ripped them apart and looked like we could score every time we went forward.

"It was a good finish (from Tito) for our first goal, and a good move for the second, and at that stage I was thinking I could sit down and enjoy the game comfortably.

"Whether we took a step back or they thought they had nothing to lose, the game transformed from us on top to them dominating and causing us problems.

"Sometimes as a manager you have to hold your hands up and say that they played better than us tonight.

"For the first 15 minutes they weren't in the game but after that they dominated and they will feel aggrieved, just like I did when we lost at Barnsley.

"But football is about winning games. We have been fortunate tonight, but sometimes you need that in football."

Jewell was however keen to praise his players for the way they stuck at their task after a busy run of games over recent weeks - and isn't looking at the quarter-final just yet.

"The only thing we are thinking about now is Saturday's game against Sheffield Wednesday," he said.

"We had two centre-backs missing tonight, and Miles Addison was also out through suspension - and the last time we got to the quarter-final, he was only ten days old.

"Rob Hulse isn't fully fit, Tito Villa is playing with a bit of an injury, and Nacer Barazite was also ineligible.

"This was our eighth game in 25 days so, as well as Leeds played, you have got to give our lads credit for sticking in there and winning the game."

Of the injuries in his squad, Jewell added: "Tito has had a kick on the calf and Rob has got his rib problem so we are just nursing both along at the moment.

"We have tried to get a couple of players in on loan today and I am waiting for the call tomorrow as we are a bit thin on the ground at the moment.

"Martin Albrechtsen had a scan yesterday and we don't think it is quite as bad as we might have thought.

"But the thing with scans is they can often show you somethign else and it looks like Martin now has a bit of a thigh strain.

"Dean Leacock is still sore and we are waiting on the results of more tests."