REPORT: Portsmouth 2-1 Derby County

Derby County bowed out of the Capital One Cup at the First Round hurdle on Wednesday evening with a 2-1 defeat to Portsmouth.

Derby County bowed out of the Capital One Cup at the First Round hurdle on Wednesday evening with a 2-1 defeat to Portsmouth.

Chaplin’s winner came only three minutes after Derby defender Jason Shackell had cancelled out Adam McGurk’s opener at Fratton Park, which came four minutes after half-time.

Despite piling men forward in the latter stages the Rams weren’t able to find an equaliser on the South Coast.

Head Coach Paul Clement named a strong starting line-up for the game on the South Coast, but did opt to utilise his squad by making eight changes from side that started in the 0-0 draw at Bolton Wanderers last weekend, in their opening Sky Bet Championship fixture of the season.

Lee Grant, Craig Forsyth, Simon Dawkins, Jeff Hendrick, Darren Bent, Andreas Weimann and youngster Isak Ssewankambo all came into the starting line-up, with only Shackell, Chris Baird and Johnny Russell retaining their places.

After a substitute appearance in the goalless draw with Bolton on Saturday, Weimann was handed his first start since joining from Aston Villa in June - while 19-year-old Sweden Under 21 international full-back Ssewankambo, signed from Dutch side NAC Breda in January, made his Derby debut at right-back after impressing during pre-season.

Portsmouth, victorious in their season-opener at home to Dagenham & Redbridge on Saturday, also shuffled their pack with boss Paul Cook making seven changes from the 3-0 success against the Daggers.

There was one familiar face in the home line-up, with former Derby midfielder Ben Davies wearing the captain’s armband. The midfielder made 82 appearances for the club between January 2011 and June 2014, scoring seven times.

Derby started the game strongly but they couldn’t make their early pressure count, however, and the hosts grew into the game as the midway point of the half approached - although their only efforts on goal were two long-range strikes from Kyle Bennett.

A slick Derby move saw the Rams create their first opportunity of the game on the half hour mark but, after Forsyth delivered an excellent cross the left, Weimann’s shot on the turn was deflected behind for a corner.

That proved to be the final noteworthy opportunity of the half for Derby until the first minute of added time when Hendrick drove from deep to the edge of the Portsmouth penalty area, but his left-footed shot lacked accuracy and power as it trickled wide for a goal kick.

Derby started the second half on the front foot and inside two minutes Weimann did well to advance into the Portsmouth area and get a shot away, but a deflection off the foot of Brandon Haunstrup saw the bit fly into the side netting at the near post.

However, four minutes into the half, Portsmouth broke the deadlock - albeit with a slice of luck.

A cross into the box from the right by Jayden Stockley was headed goalbound by McGurk and it looked as if Grant had a routine save to make, but the ball slipped through his grasp and into the corner of the net to send the home crowd into raptures.

Buoyed by taking the lead, Portsmouth also had a second goal five minutes later but Grant was alert to make two good reaction saves from Stockley and Davies’ efforts from inside the box.

Clement made a double change on the hour as the Rams chased an equaliser by introducing Tom Ince and Chris Martin in place of Dawkins and Bent as like-for-like replacements in attack - and former Pompey loanee George Thorne followed soon afterwards in place of the debutant Ssewankambo.

With 73 minutes on the clock, Derby hauled themselves back onto level terms with their first effort on target from a corner.

Russell won and took a corner down the Rams’ right which was powerfully headed home at the far post by Shackell, for his first goal since re-joining Derby from Championship rivals Burnley last month.

However, their joy was short-lived. Substitute Chaplin restored Portsmouth’s lead within three minutes in emphatic style, firing home a right-footed shot beyond the reach of Grant and into the far corner from Enda Stevens’ pass into his path.

With a vocal home crowd showing their support, Portsmouth were in no mood to let Derby back into the game again and their tireless running and pressing prevented the Rams from finding a way through their rearguard as the minutes ticked away.

Despite late pressure, with Martin shooting wide in added time, a second equaliser wasn't forthcoming and Portsmouth were left celebrating a place in Thursday's Second Round draw.

Portsmouth: Jones, Davies (C), Webster, Clarke, Haunstrup (Chaplin 71); Close, Hollands; Evans, McGurk (Stevens 55), Bennett (Tollit 74); Stockley

Substitutes Not Used: Murphy, Burgess, Atangana, Tubbs

Derby County: Grant, Forsyth, Dawkins (Ince 60), Hendrick, Bent (Martin 60), Russell, Baird (C), Shackell, Pearce, Weimann, Ssewankambo (Thorne 70)

Substitutes Not Used: Carson, Keogh, Hanson, Warnock