Pride Park Stadium
Derby County swept to a 1-0 victory at Pride Park Stadium for their fourth home win in a row.
After a dominant first half saw Derby come near on multiple occasions, Rhian Brewster nodded the Rams in front when he met Derry Murkin’s lifted cross in the 43rd minute.
And the Rams saw out the second period, again with confidence to take the win.
A tidy switch of play from Lewis Travis saw Ben Brereton Díaz look to knock the ball behind to Sam Szmodics after two minutes, but the Chilean overhit his pass beyond the backline.
The Rams’ fast start continued as Joe Ward’s interception high up the field fed Brewster into space to shoot from the edge of the penalty area. He struck the ball with the inside of his boot and saw it dip just to the wrong side of the far post.
Patrick Agyemang was next to threaten the target in the sixth minute. Another excellent switched pass, this time from Brewster on the left, found Brereton Díaz and then Szmodics. He hit a low ball for Agyemang, who was blocked at close range.
A battle between the American striker and defender Christoph Klarer nearly saw sight of goal again after a long ball bounced over the top of Birmingham’s defence, but the Austrian did enough to thwart Agyemang’s chip attempt as goalkeeper James Beadle looked beaten.
Again, Szmodics and Brereton Díaz linked in the 26th minute as the pair’s play down the right, along with Bobby Clark, looked to force an opening with their one-touch interplay, but Birmingham still held a lively Derby side at bay.
Brewster finally took advantage of the first-half domination when he rose highest to nod in after Travis and Clark combined for Murkin to dip in a cross that he converted in the 43rd minute.
The lead was close to being doubled when Ward unleashed Szmodics down the right flank and he whipped a perfect low ball to the danger area in the six-yard box that an outstretched Agyemang just missed.
Birmingham looked to get a foothold in the game in the opening stages of the second half, with the Rams’ defenders seeing off attacks after the whistle.
Szmodics found a pocket of space in the 56th minute for Derby when Agyemang headed a flick to him on the right wing, where he tried a shot from a tight angle that Beadle saved.
He nearly came close once again when he received a pass inside from Brereton Díaz on the turn and struck inches wide of the left-hand post.
Derby forced Beadle to scramble once more when Szmodics and Jaydon
Banel saw Ward into a shooting position on the right flank. He looked to have
beaten the goalkeeper but hit the woodwork.
Clark was the orchestrator in midfield in the 73rd minute when interplay with Murkin and Szmodics allowed Agyemang a shot from the left. Beadle kept it at 1-0 with a strong save at his near post.
The USA international was in behind again when he chased a
long ball minutes later, but this time Klarer was there to thwart.
The Rams remained on top into the dying moments of the contest with Carlton Morris, Oscar Fraulo and David Ozoh coming on to help see out the game with five minutes of added time.
Derby County: O’Donnell (GK), Murkin, Clarke, Agyemang (Morris 84), Brewster (Banel 65), Szmodics (Fraulo 84), Ward, Brereton Díaz, Travis (C), Sanderson, Clark (Ozoh 84).
Unused Substitutes: J Thompson (GK), Forsyth, I Gordon, Canoville, Allen.
Birmingham City: Beadle (GK), Laird (Doyle 59), Klarer (C), Robinson, Seung-Ho, Gray, Osman (Vicente 59), Iwata, Stansfield (Priske 71), Ducksch (Solís 59), Panzo.
Unused Substitutes: Allsop (GK), Neumann, Furuhashi, Roberts, Osayi-Samuel.
29,928 (including 3,117 Away Supporters)
The Rams will be out of action during the March international break, but will return in the Sky Bet Championship for a trip to Coventry City on Friday 3rd April (8pm kick-off).
