Sat 07 Apr - Posted in Breaking News
Time to read: 3mins
Matej Vydra scored his 20th goal of the season as Derby County produced a superb attacking display to beat Bolton Wanderers 3-0 at Pride Park Stadium.
Alex Pearce kept his place in the side and opened the scoring with a powerful header after just six minutes, before the Sky Bet Championship's top scorer reached another personal landmark.
Tom Lawrence sealed the points with a powerful drive nine minutes after the break, and gloss was added to the performance when 19-year-old Luke Thomas came on for his second Derby appearance.
Something that we haven’t seen from the Rams in recent weeks is a fast start, but that’s what they delivered here.
After just five minutes, a swift passing move involving Vydra and Andreas Weimann set the Czech forward away but when he squared for David Nugent, Ben Alnwick recovered to make a terrific stop with his legs.
Derby didn’t have to wait long to break the deadlock though and Pearce was the man on target as he powered Joe Ledley’s beautifully flighted corner inside the far post with his head.
Nugent went through on goal once again just after the half-hour mark, but this time Vydra was on hand to tap home once Alnwick had kept out the initial effort.
The Rams were firmly in control and the Easter Monday win seemed to have lifted the confidence, with Lawrence looking especially lively as the first-half drew to a close.
The Welshman was roaming from his left-sided attacking role and when he found himself with space through the centre after the break, he drove at the Bolton backline before firing an unstoppable low drive into the corner.
Belatedly, the visitors began to threaten Scott Carson’s goal and substitute Sammy Ameobi was inches away when his near-post effort struck the post.
Mark Beevers was causing problems from a succession of set pieces and he forced two superb saves from Carson, first with his head and then with a vicious left-footed effort.
The final stages passed without incident as the Rams secured back-to-back wins for the first time in 2018 on the occasion of Gary Rowett's 300th game as a manager.
Derby County: Carson; Wisdom, Pearce, Davies, Baird; Huddlestone, Ledley; Weimann, Vydra (Palmer, 69’), Lawrence (Thomas, 85'); Nugent (Jerome, 69’).
Substitutes not used: Roos, Keogh, Forsyth, Hanson.
Bolton Wanderers: Alnwick; Burke (Noone, HT), Wheater, Beevers; Little, Vela, Henry (Osede, 75’), Karacan, Robinson; Le Fondre, Wilbraham (Ameobi, HT).
Substitutes not used: Howard, Taylor, Dervite, Clough.
After Nugent’s chance inside five minutes went begging, Derby responded in the best possible fashion to strike just moments later.
Ledley’s delivery was perfect and Pearce rose highest for his first goal since December 2016.
After the win at Preston North End, Rowett hoped that the result would increase confidence in the camp. It seems to have happened for Lawrence.
He drove at the Bolton defence time and time again and when he found space in the second-half, he powered towards goal before hammering past Alnwick to all but secure the points for his side.
His quality from outside the penalty area is undoubted; out of his last 14 league goals, seven of them have come from range.
The Rams travel to Molineux to face Wolverhampton Wanderers on Wednesday (kick-off: 7:45pm), before the short trip down the A38 to take on Burton Albion at the Pirelli Stadium three days later.
Pride Park Stadium
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