Derby County striker Jerry Yates has been crowned as the winner of the Sky Bet Championship’s Goal of the Month award for November 2024.
Yates netted a stunning overhead kick to open the scoring inDerby’s 1-1 draw at home to Plymouth Argyle at Pride Park Stadium.
His strike was as much about the anticipation as the execution, backing into space with his eyes on the ball and adjusting his body before pulling off a perfectly timed overhead kick.
Derby fans were invited to vote for Yates’ goal on EFL.com while the supporters' votes were combined with the choices from a panel to determine the winners, which comprises of Sky Sports’ EFL experts Don Goodman and David Prutton.
Yates saw off competition from Josh Maja of Luton Town, Josh Murphy of Portsmouth and Bristol City’s former Ram Max Bird to claim the accolade.
Reacting to the news, Yates said: “I am delighted to win the award. It’s right up there as one of the best goals of my career and to score an overhead kick always feels special.
“To have the opportunity to do it in a match situation is rare but I came into the game full of confidence after scoring in the previous fixture at Coventry City.
“I was in a bit of space and with the way the ball came to me, I just instinctively went for it. We had a big crowd at Pride Park that day and see the ball hit the net and the crowd roar like they did was an incredible feeling.”
The 28-year-old, who is with Derby on a season-long loan from Championship rivals Swansea City, has scored four times in 18 appearances and established himself as a popular member of Paul Warne’s dressing room.
Lead Sky Bet EFL Goal of the Month judge and Sky Sports Pundit Don
Goodman said: “It was a month of extraordinary goals in the
Championship, making choosing a winner no easy task. But you can’t
really look past an overhead kick for the award. It’s very rare a skill
like this comes off, and Jerry Yates catches it so full he gave the
goalkeeper absolutely no chance.”