Derby County made it two wins from two in the EFL Trophy Northern Section - Group G following a 2-1 victory over Sky Bet League Two leaders Notts County on Tuesday evening at Meadow Lane.
A goal in either half from attacking midfielder Louie Sibley gave the Rams a comfortable two goal lead before Junior Morias scored from the penalty spot for the home side to add some edginess to the final stages.
Derby, roared on by over 3,100 travelling fans, were able to see the game out well and the result puts the Rams in driving seat to qualify for the knockout stages of the competition.
Key Moments
Sibley had the first chance of the evening inside the opening five minutes - and it was a good one at that. Fellow attacker Tom Barkhuizen nicked the ball in midfield and played Sibley in on the right-hand side. The latter shifted the ball brilliantly onto his right foot and struck a shot that was tipped onto the crossbar by home goalkeeper Sam Slocombe.
Midfielder Max Bird was close to scoring a superb individual goal soon afterards following a mazy run through the middle of the pitch, but he was denied by a last gasp challenge from Jim O'Brien.
Notts County's first chance came through Lewis Macari when a corner fell kindly to him on the edge of the box but he blazed his half-volley over the bar.
Midfielder Tyrese Fornah had an excellent opportunity to open the scoring when he was played through on goal by an inch-perfect Bird pass but his effort was tipped around the post for a corner by Slocombe.
Sibley went on to give the Rams a deserved lead after 20 minutes. He combined well with Kane Wilson down the right and latched onto a through ball from the right-back before firing low and hard into the bottom corner.
Former Ram David McGoldrick had a chance to level things when the ball broke kindly to him followed excellent work from Aaron Nemane, but his shot was superbly charged down by a combination of defensive pair Eiran Cashin and Sonny Bradley.
Another huge save from Slocombe stopped the Rams from making it two before the break. Cashin played in Barkhuizen down the left and the winger cut inside before firing an effort towards goal that was saved by the feet of Slocombe.
The Notts goalkeeper was being kept incredibly busy and he had to be at his best once more right on the stroke of half-time. Neat link-up play between Barkhuizen and James Collins saw the latter with a shooting opportunity in the central of goal but again Slocombe was there to make himself big and deny Derby.
Derby got a well deserved second soon after the restart and it was that man Sibley again. Barkhuizen did superbly down the left to beat his man before putting a low teasing cross into the box. Collins connected was denied by an outstanding save from Slocombe but Sibley was there to pick up the loose ball and fired it into the back of the net.
The home side had a glorious chance to halve the deficit when Morias pounced on a loose ball out from the back. His shot was initially blocked by Cashin but the ball was recycled back out to Sam Austin who then had his effort blocked on the line terrifically from Wilson.
And they were soon handed the opportunity to cut the score in half when Fornah brought down substitute Luther Munakandafa in the box. Morias stepped up to take the spot kick and fired an unstoppable effort into the top left corner past Josh Vickers to set up an interesting final 15 minutes.
Bradley headed just wide from a Conor Hourihane corner as the Rams looked to restore their two goal lead as the match entered the final 10 minutes.
Down the other end, an important last-ditch challenge from Bradley denied the home side a stoppage time equaliser as the Rams held out to secure the win and extend their unbeaten run in all competitions to seven matches.
The Teams
Notts County: Slocombe (GK), Rawlinson (73' Baldwin), O'Brien, Austin, Nemane (67' Cameron), Bostock (C) (67' Gill), McGoldrick (46' Crowley), Adebayo-Rowling, Morias, Macari, Tipton (73' Munakandafa).
Substitutes not used: Stone (GK), Brindley.
Derby County: Vickers (GK), Wilson, Forsyth (56' Nyambe), Hourihane (C), Bradley, Cashin, Barkhuizen (80' Smith), Bird, Collins (90' Brown), Sibley, Fornah.
Substitutes not used: Wildsmith (GK), Radcliffe, Davidson, Allen.
Attendance: 5,946 (3,112 Derby County supporters)
What's Next Up?
The Rams aren't back in action until Saturday 21st October due to the international break. The side's first game back sees them travel to Shrewsbury Town in Sky Bet League One (3pm kick-off), while their final EFL Trophy group fixture will see them host Wolverhampton Wanderers Under-21s on Tuesday 7th November at Pride Park Stadium (7pm kick-off).
