Derby County were force to settle for a 1-1 draw at Riverside Stadium despite a dominating performance against Middlesbrough.


Boro conceded their first goal at home in four games when Scott Malone’s cross into the box came off Middlesbrough captain George Friend and passed Darren Randolph as he looked to keep Martyn Waghorn at bay.

A late goal stripped the Rams of a deserved three points after an own goal by Jayden Bogle.

Derby continued where they left off on Wednesday night against West Brom on Saturday afternoon, controlling large spells of the opening 45 minutes passing seamlessly through and around Middlesbrough.


With the Rams leading the Championship with most goals coming in the opening 15 minutes with five so far, Wilson looked to extend that lead when he fired just after the 10-minute mark. Mason Mount worked his way down the pitch and chipped it forward for the Welsh wideman.

He unleashed a powerful strike, like we have seen numerous times already this term, towards the top right corner, but Darren Randolph managed to tip it behind.


Derby continued to be a threat in the final third and proved too much for the home side inside 20 minutes. Scott Malone did well down the left to win the ball back and whip a cross in across the goal looking for Waghorn at the far post. The under-pressure Boro captain failed to clear the danger and put it past his own keeper.

Middlesbrough were extremely lucky to not find themselves 2-0 down just two minutes later with four narrow misses, seconds apart.

Jack Marriott struck from just inside the area sending Randolph the wrong way, but the ‘keepers feet got batted it back out. With the ball straight back in Derby’s possession, Marriott re-positioned himself at the right post and fired another shot that Randolph pushed out, again to the Rams for Wilson to fire off the post before a resulting corner saw Mount fire wide

Derby were caught momentarily off-guard back down the other end when Scott Carson’s pass out was intercepted and quickly made its way to Britt Assombalonga the other side of the box. Tom Huddlestone read it well and made a clever tackle to keep the lead.


Boro made all three subs early on in the second-half looking to find a way to break down the Rams and quash their attack. Derby remained on the front-foot, however, and were awarded a free-kick from 25-yards out after David Nugent was taken down. Wilson stepped up and rifled his lethal left-footed effort low toward the bottom left corner, but Randolph just managed to palm it out.


With 15 minutes remaining, Boro went on the attack. Friend whipped in a low cross into the box but Fikayo Tomori swooped in before Rudy Gestede to clear it behind. The resulting corner saw Gestede head wide.

With six minutes remaining, Boro drew equal when Bogle attempted to clear the ball into the box. The game remained level and the Rams were forced to leave Teeside with a point.


Middlesbrough: Randolph; Ayala, Flint, Fry; McNair (Braithwaite, 51), Howson, Clayton, Besic (Saville, 55), Friend (C); Downing; Assombalonga (Gestede, 55)

Unused Subs: Lonergan, Batth, Hugill, McQueen

Derby County: Carson; Bogle, Keogh (C), Tomori, Malone; Mount (Johnson, 62), Huddlestone, Wilson; Waghorn, Marriott (Nugent, 67), Lawrence

Unused Subs: Roos, Forsyth, Jozefzoon, Holmes, Davies

WHO IMPRESSED...

Frank Lampard's side have put in three impressive team performances following the international break, picking up seven points from nine against three of the top-four sides.


Against Middlesbrough, Fikayo Tomori was on hand to make a vital block late on and soon after made back-to-back tackles, one as he was still on the ground, to prevent a Boro counter-attack.

UP NEXT...

The Rams will switch their focus to the Carabao Cup as they prepare to face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in the Fourth Round on Wednesday night, kick-off: 7:45pm.

Derby will then return to Pride Park after three consecutive away fixtures to face Birmingham City in the Sky Bet Championship next Saturday, kick-off: 3pm.