3/1 To Win
Derby County ended their final home game of the 2016/17 season on a winning note after comfortably seeing off ten-man Wolverhampton Wanderers with a 3-1 win.
David Nugent’s 12th minute header saw the Rams capitalise on a superb start to the contest and just before the half-an-hour mark, Bradley Johnson extended Derby’s advantage with a close-range conversion.
After being reduced to ten-men, the visitors did manage to peg one back through Ben Marshall, right on the cusp of half-time, against the run of play.
However, a professional second-half display saw Derby regain their two-goal lead through Craig Bryson as the hosts claimed a comfortable victory in their final home game of the 2016/17 campaign.
Going into the match, a total of five changes were made by Gary Rowett with Chris Baird, Jacob Butterfield, Craig Bryson, Tom Ince and David Nugent all coming in as replacement for Cyrus Christie, Will Hughes, Ikechi Anya, Matej Vydra and Darren Bent.
That brought with it a change in formation too, as Derby lined up in a more familiar 4-3-3 shape and from the first whistle, the hosts fired out of the traps.
The Rams could have opened the scoring earlier than they did with three quick clear opportunities.
Ince had two of them, and Bradley Johnson cracked the crossbar in between, whilst the former, lively from the right-hand side, continued to cause the visitors a lot of headaches and would have scored, but for a terrific recovery tackle from George Saville after he had broken clear of Wolves’ defence.
Though the scoreline was still level, Derby were in complete control and on 12 minutes, this came to fruition after a superb cross from Ince on the right was headed in by Nugent at Burgoyne’s far post.
It was the 31-year-old’s fourth goal in his last two games at Pride Park – a fitting way to mark Derby’s electric start.
After taking the lead so emphatically, the following 15 minutes of play saw possession exchanged between the two battling sides.
Nouha Dicko was Wolves’ biggest threat and he had a big chance to score after winning a hopeful high ball just before the half-an-hour mark, allowing him to test Scott Carson for the first time, but the Rams’ Player of the Year came out on top.
To keep their foot firmly on the gas, Derby needed a crucial second goal and on 29 minutes Johnson stepped up to do exactly that.
It all started with Carson who got the ball out quickly to Jacob Butterfield. The midfielder, in turn, moved possession over to Johnny Russell and, thanks a terrific cross from the wideman, Johnson was there to convert from inside the box.
Rowett’s side really were flying and they nearly added another in quick succession after Russell saw his chance from a poorly cleared corner cleared off the line.
Two goals down and still a long way to go, Wolves were hanging on and things got worse shortly after the hour mark as Christopher Kavanagh, the referee, gave Ricardo Ivan Cavaleiro his marching orders after an off-the-ball altercation.
After that, another dry patch of play followed, but on 44 minutes, Derby almost had the supporters off their seats again. It just wouldn’t go in for Russell, though, whose latest effort – a first time effort from Marcus Olsson’s cross – looped on to the crossbar.
As the game grew, Wolves were showing good play in phases and their counter-attack forced the Rams’ defence to remain wary.
And against the run of play, their threat came to fore when the lively Dicko broke into Derby’s box to deliver a cut back to Marshall, who needed no second invitation to score.
The late goal aside, though, overall the first half was very positive and come full-time it only proved to be a mere blemish.
The interval arrived at the perfect time for Rowett’s side and pretty much instantly after the restart, Derby picked up where they left off as they looked to build on their one-goal advantage.
Two opportunities in the first 10 minutes quickly followed.
First it was Nugent, but Kortney Hause came to the rescue, relieving any immediate pressure from Russell’s inviting centre. Then it was Richard Keogh who fancied his chances from range and the Derby captain took on the shot on the edge of the box, but it was blasted narrowly over the bar.
On 57 minutes, Derby did eventually regain their two-goal lead through Bryson, who converted from inside the area with relative ease, courtesy of a second assist from Russell.
From then on, the hosts really were in complete control and this remained the case right up until the final whistle.
On 80 minutes, intricate dribbling from substitute Cyrus Christie, on as a substitute, saw him break into the box to produce a fine curling effort on the edge of the box. Unfortunately for him it did not curl enough but the three points were all but assured for Derby.
The visitors did try to haunt Derby once again with a counter-attack, this time through substitute Bright Enobakhare after he unleashed a shot from 20-yards out, but a strong hand from Carson ensured that he wasn’t going to be beaten for a second time.
The Rams, though, produced an almost perfect second-half performance as they cruised to a comfortable home win in their final fixture of the 2016/17 campaign at Pride Park Stadium.
Derby County: Carson, Baird, Keogh, Pearce (Christie, 68), Olsson (Anya, 83), Butterfield, Bryson, Johnson, Ince, Nugent, Russell
Substitutes not used: Mitchell, De Sart, Vydra, Bennett, Macdonald
Wolverhampton Wanderers: Burgoyne, Edwards (C), Saville, Dicko (Bodvarsson, 78), Evans, Coady, Saiss, Hause, Cavaleiro, Williamson, Marshall (Enobakhare, 73)
Substitutes not used: Ruddy, Pereira, Batth, Mason, Graham
Attendance: 31,051 (2,888 away supporters)
