3/1 To Win
Derby County striker Chris Martin moved up to 18th in the club’s all-time leading goalscorer list following his two strikes against Blackburn Rovers in a convincing 3-0 win at Pride Park Stadium on Sunday.
Before the weekend, the 31-year-old sat in joint 19th position in Derby’s record goalscorer chart, alongside Jimmy Bauchop with 72 goals, and was one behind Harry Leonard in 18th spot.
His first goal on Sunday, and Rams’ second of the game in the victory over Rovers, saw him move into joint 18th place with 73 goals alongside Leonard who had served the club between 1911-1920.
When Jason Knight was fouled in the penalty box to earn Derby a penalty late in the second half, it gave Martin the chance to surpass Leonard and secure the position for himself.
He stepped up and sent Blackburn goalkeeper Christian Walton the wrong way to notch his 74th goal in Derby colours.
It’s been seven years since Martin signed for the Rams, initially joining on loan from Norwich City, before making it a permanent arrangement during the summer of 2013.
Since then, he has made 215 appearances and averaged just under one goal every three games he has played.
He now sits two goals off Bill Curry’s total of 76 but Martin is keen to play down the achievement and focus on the importance of climbing the Sky Bet Championship table.
“If I’m being honest, I would have liked more than that but it’s not a bad tally,” he admitted, talking to RamsTV following the 3-0 victory over Blackburn Rovers on Sunday.
“I will just keep trying to add to it between now and the end of the season. If I get no more and we managed to get into the play-offs and promoted then it doesn’t matter.
“If I can get 10 more and the same thing happens then it will be a bonus, so I just want to keep adding to the tally. I feel like I’m in a decent vein of form at the moment.
“We showed real verve and impetus going forward today against Blackburn. We created a hell of a lot of opportunities and got in some fantastic areas and I think if you do that, especially as a striker, you are going to have a field day so long may that continue.”
His first goal in the convincing victory over play-off chasing Blackburn was a typical striker’s finish as he followed the ball in from a Graeme Shinnie effort.
The ball rebounded to him and he made no mistake from close range and it was an effort he was particularly pleased to score.
“That was the perfect striker’s goal,” he admitted. “You don’t have to work for them, you just have to follow them in. They bounce at your feet and you just tap it into the empty net.
“It doesn’t paint a picture when it shows your goal tally at the end of the season, it just shows you how many.
“I know as a striker there are plenty of goals from that position and I would like to do that more often and add that to my game. It was a good strike from Graeme Shinnie and my eyes lit up when I saw the ball bobble out.”
Martin’s eyes lit up even more when he received the ball in space on the edge of the box with only minutes remaining, but let’s just say the less said about that effort, the better.
“I think someone is driving away with it in the car park behind the stadium as we speak!” he said.
“I got a bit excited and it bobbled up on me but it was nice to be on a hat trick and it’s been a long time coming.”
