Derby County suffered last-minute heartache as a dominant display against Sheffield Wednesday ended 2-1 to the visitors in the Sky Bet Championship at Pride Park Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
Ebou Adams gave the Rams an early lead when he guided the ball into the net from inside the box to complete a well-worked passage of play in the ninth minute.
Despite relentless attacking pressure from Derby, Barry Bannan levelled the game after the hour mark with an impressive strike from distance.
A late winner by Jamal Lowe deflated Derby hearts after a strong display.
The Rams started the brightest of the two sides with Nathaniel Mendez-Laing and Kane Wilson finding space on the flank to attack, but they were unable to find the final shot despite a flurry of chances in the opening stages.
Marvin Johnson had the visitors’ first chance in the fifth minute as he met the second ball from Barry Bannan’s corner with a stinging volley, but Adams’ head took the brunt force of the shot and saw the ball away from danger.
Adams gave Derby the lead just before the tenth minute when he swept the ball home to round off a neat move that saw Marcus Harness cut the ball back from the left into the middle of a packed penalty area for the Gambian international to convert.
Former Owls player Mendez-Laing came close to doubling the advantage when he drilled a shot from 20 yards out that bounced and looked to trouble Wednesday goalkeeper James Beadle, but the shot-stopper got down well to save.
Mendez-Laing then looked to be the provider in the 14th minute, as his cross from deep found Adams’ outstretched leg. However, the midfielder couldn’t get the desired connection and sent the ball in the opposite direction into the path of Craig Forsyth. The veteran left-back snatched at the shot though and saw the ball go over the crossbar.
Derby dominated the chances for the rest of the half, but for a sequence of corners for the visitors, with Rams goalkeeper Jacob Widell Zetterström palmed one dangerous delivery over the bar and the others were cleared by the Derby defence.
Mendez-Laing had the first real opportunity of the second period, as the Rams aimed to continue their dominance despite Sheffield Wednesday making tactical substitutions at the break. The Guatemalan international was fed in by Adams and spun a left-footed strike towards goal, an attempt thwarted only by the outstretched leg of a visiting defender.
Yates looked certain to double Derby’s tally in the 53rd minute as he played a tidy one-two with Harness and received the ball inside the six-yard box. He attempted to place the ball into the back of the net, but Beadle got down well to save and keep the scoreline at 1-0.
The pressure kept mounting as a corner saw two chances in quick succession. The delivery found Adams who directed the ball goalwards and Yates' instinctive header struck the crossbar.
Paul Warne’s first changes of the match saw Kayden Jackson and
Tom Barkhuizen take to the field, with Mendez-Laing and Harness making way in
the 57th minute.
The visitors equalised against the run of play when captain Bannan curled a sublime effort from 25 yards that evaded the reach of Zetterström in the Derby goal.
Derby nearly had an immediate response when Wilson was found emerging at the near post by a deep cross from the opposite flank, but the Derby right-sider directed the ball just wide of the post.
Wednesday looked dangerous on the break as substitute striker Jamal Lowe’s diving header displayed in the 74th minute after a spell of Derby possession.
Kenzo Goudmijn and Callum Elder came on in the 79th as the Rams looked
to switch the momentum back around and look for a winning goal.
Back-to-back corners, whipped in by Elder, looked to trouble the visitors but they held firm to clear their lines.
Goudmijn found Jackson in space on the right with two minutes of regulation time remaining. The attacker found Yates in the box, but the ball couldn’t land kindly for the striker to get a shot on goal.
Wednesday went on to win it deep into added time when Lowe found himself in the right place to guide a low cross into the back of the net from six yards out.
Derby barely had time to kick off again before the final whistle sounded on a third home defeat of the season.
Derby County: Zetterström (GK), Wilson, Nelson, Cashin, Forsyth, Osborn (Goudmijn 79), Adams, Thompson (Elder 79), Mendez-Laing (Barkhuizen 57), Harness (Jackson 57), Yates (Collins 89).
Unused Substitutions: Vickers (GK), Phillips, Blackett-Taylor, Brown.
Sheffield Wednesday: Beadle (GK), Lowe, Iorfa (Windass 46), Bannan (C), Valentín (Palmer 46), Smith (Paterson 79), Valery, Gassama (Lowe 57), Charles, Musaba (Chalobah 69).
Unused Substitutions: Hamer (GK), Ingelsson, Ihiekwe, Otegbayo.
Referee: John Busby
Assistant Referees: Mark Russell, Robert Hyde
Fourth Official: Leigh Doughty
29,212 (3,135 Away Supporters)
The Rams will head to Elland Road for the first of a December double-header in the Sky Bet Championship against Leeds United on Saturday 7th December (12:30pm kick-off).
