Mason Mount's third goal in six appearances helped Derby County to back-to-back victories with what he described as a ‘quality’ performance.
It was the second Sky Bet Championship clash of the week at Pride Park Stadium and the second time the Rams put on a dominating and solid performance to claim 2-0 win over Preston North End, following the midweek victory against Ipswich Town.
The Rams were patient in wearing the visitors down but it was the young midfielder’s goal seven minutes before the break that was the pivotal point of the match.
Derby had several chances to double their lead before Richard Keogh sealed the victory with an assist by Mount.
Mount praised his team-mates' quality and, in the end, said that was the difference.
“Getting that first goal in the first-half helps a lot to gain the momentum going into the second half,” Mount told RamsTV following the match.
“I think we carried that and got the second goal. I thought we were very good on the ball but they made it very tough, they were man-to-man and trying to fight the whole game.
“We had to do the same but I thought we came out on top with our quality in the final third. I think it was a great all-round performance from all the boys.”
It was Mount’s third goal of the season after he opened the Rams’ campaign with the first goal at Reading and he followed that up with a fine strike at Oldham Athletic in the Carabao Cup.
His third came from good play by David Nugent - and the 19-year-old then took a moment to skip past Paul Huntington before firing beyond Declan Rudd.
He said: “I’m very happy to get another goal. Getting forward as much as I can and getting in the box as much as I can, that is where I can score goals.
“When you’ve got ‘Nuge’ on the ball and he puts the ball on the plate like that, you have to score.
“I saw the player come in and I thought he might have thought I would hit it first time. I had another touch and he kept going. I tried to cut inside and hit the far corner.”
The Rams will look to keep their hot streak rolling as they face Hull City twice next week heading into the international break.
The on-loan Chelsea player, who spent last term at Vitesse in Holland, is gaining a new experience with the busy Championship schedule.
However, he said with the games coming thick and fast its perfect to keep the momentum going: “It is a very hectic schedule and something I have never experienced before. You play a game, have to recover really quickly then you have another.
“It’s a quick turnaround but I like that. If you win a game then you have to keep building the momentum. We have won the last two and moving forward we want to win as many as we can.”
