Derby County booked their place in Round Two of the Carabao Cup as they overcame Sky Bet League Two Chesterfield 2-1 at Pride Park Stadium on Tuesday night.
Paul Warne’s side were looking for their first win of the 2024/25 campaign after they kicked off the Sky Bet Championship season with a 4-2 defeat to Blackburn Rovers last Friday.
Armando Dobra got Chesterfield in front in the first period before afine finish from Liam Thompson brought Derby level before.
Substitute Kayden Jackson’s second-half strike, shortly after coming off the bench, put Derby into the Round Two of the cup.
Key Moments
The two sides began the game trying to figure each other out, with the majority of Derby’s positive play coming down the left flank as Tom Barkhuizen, Thompson and Craig Forsyth combined to play around the Spireites’ defence. But they just couldn’t find the crucial final ball as they dominated possession.
Forsyth was involved once again in the 16th minute as Kenzo Goudmijn found the left-back in space on the wing. His cross met Dajaune Brown’s head in the box but could only be directed wide.
The wing seemed a fruitful avenue for Derby’s attack, as an identical scenario played out two minutes later on the opposite flank as Kane Wilson’s dangerous-looking delivery was nodded just wide.
Brown was on the spot again in the 21st minute as he leapt highest in a busy penalty area to direct the ball towards goal, but Chesterfield’s goalkeeper Ryan Boot got low to deny the young Derby striker.
Derby kept up the pressure as Wilson created a double chance when he crossed low and both Barkhuizen and Thompson had stinging shots blocked by the Spireites defence.
Barkhuizen looked to be the creator in the 27th minute as he delivered a teasing ball to the far post for Wilson to latch onto, but the full-back could only direct the ball over the crossbar.
Armando Dobra took the lead for Chesterfield in the 29th minute as the visitors forced a turnover and the striker ran beyond the defence to find the back of the net.
Bailey Hobson looked to cement the visitors' lead in the 34th minute as he shot from the edge of the penalty area, but the ball flew wayward as the midfielder was pressured by Derby’s defence.
Thompson impressively equalised for the Rams in the 37th minute as he struck the ball sweetly on the bounce and found the top right corner from 20 yards out after some neat link-up play with Barkhuizen and Brown.
Goudmijn forced a reaction save from Boot in the 56th minute after Eiran Cashin’s neat through ball found Wilson on the wing who found the Dutch midfielder in the box.
A glancing header from Brown echoed the Rams' intensity as they ramped up the pressure on Chesterfield in the second period as the Derby striker met Forsyth’s pinpoint delivery.
Paul Warne shuffled the pack in the 58th minute as he made four changes with Goudmijn, Wilson, Barkhuizen and Cashin making way for Ben Osborn, Nathaniel Mendez-Laing, Jackson and Curtis Nelson.
Mendez-Laing found Thompson behind on the wing moments later. The goal scorer squared the ball to Brown but he was denied by the Chesterfield shot-stopper.
Substitute Jackson gave Derby the lead in the 68th minute as he benefitted from Osborn’s corner delivery as he contorted his body to put the ball into the back of the net in a packed penalty area for his first Rams goal.
Derby striker James Collins was introduced to the field for his 100th Rams appearance and 650th appearance in club football as he replaced Brown.
Hobson threatened to give Chesterfield a foothold back in the game in the 81st minute, but he skewed his shot from distance just wide of Josh Vickers’ goal.
Mendez-Laing looked to add another in the 83rd minute when he connected with Jackson’s low cross, but the Derby winger could only send the ball wide as he was unbalanced by some tenacious defending from his marker.
The Guatemalan international looked to score again in added time, as Thompson drove forward with the ball after a turnover of play and found Mendez-Laing at the back post. But the forward's strike was blocked and sent out for a corner, with the final whistle sounding moments later.
The Teams
Derby County Starting XI: Vickers (GK), Wilson (Mendez-Laing 58), Forsyth, Ozoh, Bradley, Cashin (Nelson 58), Barkhuizen (Jackson 58), Thompson, Goudmijn (Osborn 58), Nyambe, Brown (Collins 72).
On The Bench: Luthra (GK), Washington, Elder, Ward.
Chesterfield Starting XI: Boot (GK), Naylor (Grimes 67), Oldaker, Hobson, Dobra, Berry (Drummond 64), Gordon, Dunkley, Quigley (Akinola 72), Banks (Jacobs 72), Tanton (Daley-Campbell 46).
On The Bench: Grigg, Colclough, Williams, Jones.
Attendance
8,538.
What’s Next?
The Rams will play Middlesborough in their first home game of the 2024/25 Sky Bet Championship season at Pride Park Stadium on Saturday 17th August (12:30pm kick-off).