3/1 To Win
Defender Matt Clarke was delighted to record a third successive 1-0 victory as Derby County beat Bristol City at Pride Park Stadium on Saturday.
Just like last week’s victory over Queens Park Rangers, Colin Kazim-Richards scored the only goal of the game as the Rams moved further away from the Sky Bet Championship relegation places.
And Wayne Rooney's side were good value for their victory as they had the better of the chances and could should have won by more.
Max Bird smashed the post in the first half, whilst Martyn Waghorn was denied by the fingertips of Robins goalkeeper Daniel Bentley in the second half as the Rams ground out the victory.
There was one sour note, however, as Krystian Bielik was stretched off the field in the first half in severe discomfort.
Clarke, who almost got his name of the scoresheet a couple of times from corners, was delighted to record a third successive win.
“We always felt we had this in us and we always believed we could win games,” he told RamsTV. “We stuck at it and are reaping the rewards from it now.
“We have stability in the side which helps so you get used to who you are playing with and where they’re going to be so it helps the team.
“We had some good moments in the first half and then on the counter-attack in the second half, we looked like we might get in but it didn’t fall for us.
“If you look at our fixtures, 1-0 has been the scoreline for us either way. We want to be on the winning side more but the games have tight and there have been big moments so thankfully today, we were the team that got it right.
“The whole side is doing a good job defensively and there is almost a sense of frustration because we have got the players on the counter to get the second goal. That’s the next step for us.
“We believe that we have got the quality to not rest on a 1-0 lead and get deeper and deeper but we can get on the front foot and get the second goal and finish the game.”
Kazim-Richards’ goal on the fourth minute was his fifth in a Derby shirt following his arrival in October.
He met a cross by full back Lee Buchanan and did well to guide the ball home with a first-time finish and set Derby on their way to victory at Pride Park Stadium.
“He gives us a really good platform to play from,” Clarke said on his team-mate.
“There have been times since I have been here that we have been a bit ineffective and trying to play in the wrong areas but with Colin in the team, we have a focal point and you can see in the results that it is very effective for us.”
Bielik’s injury in the first half was a sour point in the afternoon.
The midfielder, who only returned to the squad from another long-term injury in November, went down in agony on the half hour mark.
“He has been a key figure and is a key member of the squad,” Clarke commented. “We all love Krystian and to see what happened today was devastating. All we have to do is pray that it’s not as bad as it first seems but it’s horrible to see.”
