Pride Park Stadium
Derby County extended their winning run in the Sky Bet Championship to four matches with a 2-1 success at home to Hull City on Tuesday evening.
Striker Carlton Morris powered Derby in front just before the half-hour mark at Pride Park Stadium with towering header from Joe Ward’s excellent corner delivery for his ninth goal of the season.
Hull hit back to equalise early in the second half through Joel Ndala’s scrambled effort from close range.
Both sides pushed for a winner in soggy conditions, with Derby substitute Lars-Jørgen Salvesen securing the points for John Eustace’s side with a composed finish after a weak clearance from Hull goalkeeper Ivor Pandur fell into his path 25 yards out only seconds after coming on.
The first chance of the game went the way of the visitors after 15 minutes, as Matt Crooks unleashed a powerful strike from distance that rattled the crossbar before bouncing over.
The Rams threatened later in the half as Patrick Agyemang darted forward before slotting in Ben Brereton Díaz in behind the Hull backline. The Chile international then squared the ball back to Agyemang, through on goal, but his effort was deflected behind for a corner.
Derby took the lead in the 27th minute. A well-delivered corner from Joe Ward was powerfully headed home by captain on the night Morris at the front post to notch his ninth goal of the season and give the Rams the lead.
The Rams were able to see their lead through to half-time, with the backline holding firm throughout the first period at Pride Park.
Both sides had their fair share of the ball in the first half, looking dangerous on the break at times, but Morris’ clinical edge was the difference between the sides at the interval.
Derby started the second half strongly, with a chance for Callum Elder early on. The ball dropped kindly for David Ozoh who played it across to Elder, lingering just outside the penalty area, but the Australian’s strike was palmed away by Pandur to deny him a goal against his former club.
The Tigers broke forward soon after and came close to levelling. Joe Gelhardt threaded the ball through to Crooks in the box, but Jacob Widell Zetterström was able to parry it over at full stretch with an important stop to keep Derby ahead.
Hull managed to get themselves back on level terms in the 50th minute. Regan Slater's through ball was caught between Ndala, Zetterström and Ward before breaking loose, allowing Ndala to bundle it over the line from close range.
Carrying the momentum, the Tigers upped the pressure on Derby’s backline following the equaliser.
A neat passage of play down the left put Ryan Giles into a dangerous crossing position. The full-back delivered a curling ball into the box, but Zetterström rushed out to claim it well.
Eustace then made a host of substitutions in attempt to get a griphold on the match and one of them instantly made himself the hero in Salvesen.
The striker pounced on a mistake from Pandur, who had rushed out of his net before losing possession, chipping the ball into an empty net from distance to put Derby ahead with his first touch.
As stoppage time approached there was a late opening for another substitute in Andi Weimann. Having found himself in space outside the area he rifled an effort towards goal but was unable to trouble Pandur as it sailed wide.
With six minutes of stoppage time added, resilient defending was required from the Rams' backline. A number of crucial interventions, including claims from Zetterström and a sliding challenge from Elder helped keep Derby ahead.
The final action of the match saw Salvesen burst through on goal again. The ball dropped to him in an advanced position, but the Norwegian was unable to get it under control and get a shot off before the final whistle blew to round off a pulsating evening at Pride Park.
Derby County: Zetterström (GK), Clarke, Langås, Agyemang (Brewster 67), Morris (C) (Salvesen 82), Ozoh (Adams 76), Elder, Ward, Brereton Díaz (Weimann 76) , Sanderson, Clark.
Unused Substitutes: Vickers (GK), Forsyth, Batth, Blackett-Taylor, Jackson.
Hull City: Pandur (GK), Giles, Hughes (C), Ajayi, Egan (Hadžiahmetović 85),, Drameh, Ndala (Gyabi 69), Gelhardt (Akintola 80), Joseph (Destan 80), Crooks, Slater.
Unused Substitutes: Phillips (GK), Coyle, Famewo, Brown, McCarthy.
26,391 (1,644 Hull City supporters).
The Rams have one more fixture before the upcoming international break, with a trip to Ewood Park to face Blackburn Rovers in the Sky Bet Championship on Saturday afternoon on the agenda (12:30pm kick-off).
Words: Ella Barber
