Jerry Yates’ flying overhead kick saw Derby County take a point against Plymouth Argyle in a 1-1 draw in the Sky Bet Championship at Pride Park Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The Rams came flying out of the traps in the first half and Yates gave Derby the lead with an acrobatic bicycle kick after eight minutes for his second goal in as many matches.
Derby triumphed over Coventry City in a 2-1 win and Plymouth beat Portsmouth by a solitary goal.
Paul Warne made three changes to the Rams line-up coming into the match as Nathaniel Mendez-Laing, Craig Forsyth and Kane Wilson came into the starting picture. Liam Thompson made his second league start of the season in the middle of the park after impressing against Coventry on Wednesday night.
Yates’ sensational bicycle kick put Derby ahead after eight minutes. A well-crafted piece of play between Kayden Jackson, Kane Wilson and Kenzo Goudmijn earned the Rams a corner. The delivery bounced around the box and sat up in an ideal position for Yates’ acrobatics to give the Rams a one-goal advantage.
Thompson nearly added to the tally minutes later as Jackson’s low cross found the midfielder emerging into the box, but he was unbalanced by his marker and the shot edged just wide via a deflection.
Derby defender Nat Phillips came close to profiting from another corner ball as he drove a header into the ground and it bounced just over the crossbar.
The Rams’ pressure continued on the hosts in the 18th minute as Mendez-Laing delivered a spinning ball into the box that found Goudmijn in space to volley, but a crucial header by Bali Mumba saw the ball over the bar.
Callum Wright looked to be in behind with a chance for Plymouth in the 25th minute but Phillips marshalled the winger well and excellently timed a sliding challenge to deny him a chance on goal.
Goudmijn and Wilson played a neat one-two in the 30th minute that released the right-back into space down the flank. Wilson’s low cross looked to threaten but Yates let the ball roll beyond him and into the path of Mendez-Laing. However, it was swept up and out of danger by Plymouth defender Julio Pleguezuelo.
Derby continued their dominance and Mendez-Laing had a double chance to extend the lead as he struck twice from distance - the first deflected to Thompson who played it back into the Guatemalan international’s path for the second effort which skewed just wide.
Pilgrims captain Randall equalised with a free-kick in the 41st minute. The dead-ball strike hit Yates in the Rams’ wall and looped into the air while goalkeeper Jacob Widell Zetterström had already planted his feet, giving the ball a clear path to drop into the net.
Goudmijn looked to find a quick response from Derby when he dispossessed Plymouth’s left-back and drilled the ball low and just beyond the bottom left corner of goalkeeper Daniel Grimshaw’s goal.
Jackson looked to carry on Derby’s first-half intensity as their first attack of the second period saw him fire the ball across a busy penalty area, but it was deflected away by the sea of legs ahead of the goal frame.
The game looked to be tightening up but Yates’ initiative saw him take a speculative strike from the halfway line 61st minute that Grimshaw narrowly clawed away from danger.
Derby made their first changes of the game in the 63rd minute as Goudmijn and Wilson made way for Ben Osborn and Marus Harness.
Harness fired a shot towards the goal in the 70th minute, but Plymouth bodies were again in the way to deny the Rams as they looked to find the goal to put them back in front.
Dajaune Brown took the place of Mendez-Laing in the 80th minute with both teams searching for a winner.
Defender Curtis Nelson came close as Osborn laid off a free kick for Jackson to spin into the box where the centre-back steamed into the ball but sent it into the grasp of Plymouth’s goalkeeper.
In the end, both sides had to settle for a share of the spoils.
Derby County Starting XI: Zetterström (GK), Wilson (Osborn 63), Nelson, Phillips, Forsyth, Adams, Goudmijn (Osborn 64), Thompson, Mendez-Laing (C) (Brown 79), Jackson, Yates.
Unused Substitutes: Vickers (GK), Bradley, Collins, Blackett-Taylor, Ward, Barkhuizen, Harness.
Plymouth Argyle: Grimshaw (GK), Mumba, Pleguezuelo, Szucs, Whittaker, Wright (Issaka 69), Obafemi (Forshaw 78), Bundu (Hardie 69), Gyabi, Randell (C), Sorinola (Palsson 90+1).
Unused Substitutes: Marosi (GK), Ogbeta, Houghton, Gray, Al Hajj.
Referee: Simon Hooper
Assistant Referees: Adrian Holmes, Natalie Aspinall
Fourth Official: Benjamin Speedie
Attendance: 29,652 (1,907 away supporters)
The clash with Plymouth was the Rams' final game before the November international break. Derby will return to action in the Sky Bet Championship with an away fixture against Preston North End on Saturday 23rd November (3pm kick-off).
