Derby County secured a valuable three points on Humberside in their final away game of the 2024/25 Sky Bet Championship season with a late 1-0 victory against Hull City at the MKM Stadium.
Neither side could take advantage of opportunities in a tightly fought first half as the game remained goalless despite chances for Harrison Armstrong and Kane Wilson for the Rams, while Gustavo Puerta’s free-kick was well saved by Josh Vickers to deny the hosts.
The same was true of the second half, with chances going amiss for both sides.
However, the deadlock was opened after a spectacular free-kick delivery from Craig Forsyth was met by the head of defender Nat Phillips in the 84th minute to seal all three points for John Eustace's side.
The win keeps the Rams out of the division's bottom three, by a point, going into the final round of fixtures next weekend.
Key Moments
Hull started the clash holding the ball and looked to create chances early on and midfielder Nordin Amrabat's shot forced a corner in the third minute, but Derby cleared their lines.
Wilson aimed to provide an outlet for the Rams down the right flank as he linked up with Jerry Yates to deliver a ball into the box in the fifth minute that was blocked wide by a Tigers defender.
Regan Slater saw Derby goalkeeper Josh Vickers called into action for the first time in the ninth minute when he tried a shot from the edge of the box, but he could only muster enough power to let the ball roll into the arms of the shot-stopper.
A good move from the Rams in the 17th minute looked fruitful after Wilson nutmegged his defender on the wing to play Marcus Harness down the flank. He crossed to the far post for Forsyth, who headed it back across the goal. Derby couldn’t take advantage of the chance as Yates lost his footing before he could strike.
Puerta’s attempted free kick from distance in the 26th minute had Vickers in action again as he rose to catch the curling effort.
Strong defending from home substitute Steven Alzate stemmed what looked to be a dangerous attack when Harness charged in on goal two minutes later. The midfielder clipped the ball just from under Harness’ heels before he could have a shooting chance.
Moments later, Wilson was once again Derby’s main outlet when he performed a marauding run into the penalty area and latched onto a through ball from Harness. Wilson fought well but another crucial slide tackle from a Tigers defender, this time Sean McLoughlan, denied the Rams.
A spell of corners saw Derby go near as the ball dropped to Harrison Armstrong in the 39th minute. He tried for goal, but it was blocked and the ball went just wide.
The midfielder had possession again and charged into the box after the ball was recycled from following the block. He went down under pressure from a Hull defender, but the referee judged it as simulation and Armstrong went into the book.
Some well-crafted build-up play saw Derby go near for the first time in the second half after the 54th minute. Yates and Wilson were at the heart of a move that saw them spread the ball from the left to the right flank, with the wing-back delivering into the box, where Adams’ attempt was blocked.
Forsyth came in clutch for the Rams in the 59th minute when a well-judged challenge inside his own penalty area denied Abu Kamara, who was about to be in with a clear-cut chance at goal.
Another chance came down the other end for Derby when Adams had an attempt that was fired wayward after the ball bounced to him on the edge of the penalty area.
Hull attacker Joe Gelhardt thought his strike from 25 yards would be the one to open the scoring when it headed towards the target, but a melee of legs in the box saw the ball blocked and the chance go wide.
Eustace made Derby’s first substitution in the 69th
minute as Nathaniel Mendez-Laing came onto the field of play, replacing Liam
Thompson.
Amraba got in behind the Derby defence as the clock ticked down, but some exceptional recovery from both Adams and Sondre
Langås, who put in crucial the tackle to win the ball, stemmed a certain goalscoring opportunity.
Wilson struck just wide in the 79th minute as he was the
first to gain possession in some time after the game became loose. He carried
the ball to the edge of the box and had a go at goal but the ball went beyond the side
netting.
Phillips then headed Derby into the lead with six minutes of normal time left when he met Forsyth’s free-kick from the left to net his first Rams goal and send the travelling Rams fans wild.
Hull pushed for a late leveller, but the Rams defended well and saw the game out to claim a crucial victory on the road in the fight for survival.
The Teams
Hull City: Pandur (GK), Coyle (C), Hughes, McLoughlin, Egan (Jones 61), Puerta, Slater (Alzate 14), Joseph (Crooks 89), Gelhardt, Amrabat (Pedro 89), Kamara (Burstow 89).
Substitutes Not Used: Lo-Tutala (GK), Jones, Lincoln, Drameh, Palmer.
Derby County: Vickers (GK), Wilson, Forsyth, Langås, Yates (Barkhuizen 90+1), Phillips, Thompson (Mendez-Laing 69), Harness (Jackson 79), Clarke, Armstrong, Adams (C).
Substitutes Not Used: Luthra (GK), Osborn, Roofe, Goudmijn, Blackett-Taylor, Pieters.
Referee: Stephen Martin
Assistant Referees: Mark Dwyer, Hristo Karaivanov
Fourth Official: Greg Rollason
Attendance
24,451.
What’s Next?
The Rams will host Stoke City at Pride Park Stadium on Saturday 3rd May (12:30pm kick-off) in their final game of the 2024/25 Sky Bet Championship season.
