Two defenders were the unlikely heroes as Derby County extended their unbeaten run over Sheffield Wednesday to 17 games with a 2-0 home victory.

Cyrus Christie marked his 100th start for the Rams with a headed goal to reward a strong start to the contest, but arriving in fine form, Carlos Carvalhal’s side fought back to put Scott Carson’s goal under heavy pressure – particularly in the early stages of the second half.

Alex Pearce’s first-ever goal for Derby extinguished the pressure, however, as Steve McClaren's men claimed their second win in three home outings.

Enthralling from the first whistle, Derby were straight on the offensive against last season’s beaten play-off finalists.

It took the hosts just over a minute to register their first chance. Tom Ince did the initial good work, flicking a ball over Daniel Pudil and advancing down the right flank, before cutting a pass back to the edge of the area. Jacob Butterfield was lurking, but he let the ball run across him into the path of Jamie Hanson to strike first time, forcing a save out of Cameron Dawson.

Utilising a high press, the Rams looked to make the most of a nervous start, but Wednesday fought back and should have led seven minutes in with quick consecutive chances falling their way.

Scott Carson kept the contest goalless, denying Kieran Lee as the ball pinballed across the Derby area, before Adam Reach saw a shot a minute later blocked on the line by Richard Keogh – a block that drew adamant cries for a penalty from the visitors.

Nevertheless, the Rams survived and went on to go and take the lead.

Christie, making his century of starts for the club, only had one goal in the black and white of Derby to his name, before this fixture, but he grabbed his second to open the scoring in this fixture – winning a corner with some fancy footwork before powering a header from Ince’s resulting set piece into the back of the net.

It could have been two shortly after as Jacob Butterfield attempted a first time volley from Ince’s cross from the right, but it sailed just over Dawson’s far upright, whilst Bradley Johnson blazed over too as Derby took control of proceedings by the scruff of the neck with their impressive high tempo and pressing game.

Christie continued to impress too. With two minutes remaining of the first half he pinched back possession inside his own half and surged down the right. With time, he got his head up and whipped in a cross that Darren Bent could only head over.

It took a while for Carvalhal’s Owls to settle, but once they did, they began to look a threat once more with their intricate style of play, finishing the half strongly before they really began to turn the screw in the second.

Barry Bannan, the one-time Derby loanee, was central to that and was involved in most of Wednesday’s best build up play. He stung the palms of Carson, whilst Liam Palmer saw a shot deflect off Pearce and fly agonisingly wide.

Fernando Forestieri had two further chances, as the Italian first shot wide and was also denied by the Rams’ goalkeeper after collecting a pass from Bannan in the area.

Carvalhal signalled his intent by throwing Steven Fletcher into the mix, but Derby struck the decisive blow just five minutes later as another defender got off the mark.

It came after the visitors failed to clear their lines and after the ball fell into the path of Butterfield, the midfielder lined up a shot, scuffing it in the process, but it fell perfectly for Pearce, who guided it into the back of the net.

After that, Wednesday never matched the threat level that posed prior to the second goal as Derby comfortably saw the contest out.

They could have had a third, as Butterfield was denied by Dawson from range, but the job was done as the Rams secured a big victory on home soil.

Derby County: Carson, Christie, Keogh (C), Pearce, Olsson; Hanson, Butterfield, Johnson; Ince (Anya, 87), Russell (Lowe, 90), Bent (Vydra, 84)

Substitutes not used: Mitchell, Baird, Weimann, Rawson

Sheffield Wednesday: Dawson, Jones (Wallace, 74), Lee, Reach, Hooper, Lees (C), Palmer, Hutchinson, Pudil (Fletcher, 61, Nuhiu, 77), Bannan, Forestieri

Substitutes not used: Kean, Abdi, Semedo, Hunt

Attendance: 30,064 (3,104 away supporters)