Michael Tonge felt Derby County got their just rewards with a deserved 2-0 victory over Watford this afternoon.

Tonge opened the scoring in stunning fashion with a long-range drive in the early stages to set the Rams on their way.

Kicking off a busy month, Tonge admitted a victory was vital going into back-to-back away games at Reading and Doncaster.

"First and foremost, it was an important victory, especially looking at the results afterwards," he told Rams Player afterwards.

"Given we have such a hectic run of games coming up it was imperative we got off on a winning note.

"We have been playing well lately and I think today was a continuation of the last few games, but we got our just rewards today."

Tonge also confessed his strike was 'one of his better ones'.

He said: "I was delighted to get off the mark; the woodwork worked against me last time against Swansea so it was nice it worked in my favour today.

"It was one of my better ones, especially considering it was on my left foot.

"I thought the goalkeeper was going to get it at first, but I was delighted to see it hit the net and I hope it is the first of many for the club."

Tonge also revealed he had been struggling with a virus ahead of the game, but was determined to play.

"I have been struggling over the last few days since the middle of the week," he said.

"I woke up very early today and felt awful, but once I was up and about I felt a bit better and I really wanted to play my part.

"I was conscious that I would let the team down if I played being ill; I didn't want to be a burden.

"In fact the longer the game went on the better I felt, which was strange."

Watch an exclusive post-match interview with Michael on Rams Player on Sunday.