Second-half goals from Jaydon Banel and Carlton Morris earned Derby a comfortable 2-0 win over Stoke and boosted their chances of a Sky Bet Championship play-off place.
After getting beat by Coventry on Friday, John Eustace’s side returned to winning ways and ensured they moved to within a point off Wrexham, who sit in sixth place.
The hosts dominated the first period in an exciting half which saw Morris strike the post before Ben Brereton Diaz fluffed his lines from one-on-one range, but for all of their control, they were still yet to muster a shot on target.
But, Derby made their dominance count after the break as Banel jumped off the bench for the injured Patrick Agyemang and notched his first goal for the club since joining on loan from Burnley before Morris finished the job a minute from time.
Another defeat on the road continued Stoke’s miserable away run – they have not managed to win on the road since a 2-0 victory over Norwich on January 4 – and the final whistle was greeted with boos from the away end.
Both teams made a lively start under the bright sunshine and it was the side chasing the play-offs that found their groove first but they were denied an opener by the woodwork when Morris smashed a volley off the post which then bounced to safety.
Morris was involved again to slip Brereton Diaz through less than a minute later, but the Derby forward over-ran the ball straight into the grasp of the onrushing Gavin Bazunu.
The Rams were completely dominant but had to be aware of the Stoke threat. Eric Bocat had the Potters’ best chance of the half when the ball bounced to him inside the area but he lashed wide.
The down side of the first period for the hosts came when top scorer Agyemang landed awkwardly and was carried off on a stretcher – with his right leg strapped – which could put an end to his World Cup hopes for the United States.
The Rams celebrated a deserved opener nine minutes into the second half when Bobby Clark’s delivery landed at the feet of Banel, who planted a smart finish into the bottom-right corner.
Stoke’s chances were few and far between but they managed to work their best chance when Jesurun Rak-Sakyi showed great footwork to tee up Tatsuki Seko, who blazed the ball harmlessly over.
The home side struck the woodwork for the second time in the match when the ball looped to Clark outside the area and he sent a ferocious volley crashing onto the upright, while Bazunu was there to snuff out the follow up.
Million Manhoef came off the bench and injected some life into an abject Stoke performance, laying the ball off for Sam Gallagher inside the area, who blazed wide as Pride Park blew a huge sigh of relief.
Derby wrapped up the three points after some neat play up on the left opened up the chance for Clark to put a ball into the box and Morris was able to finish from close range.
The managers
Derby’s John Eustace:
“We thoroughly deserved the win. From the first minute we were on the front foot, the football we played today was superb, the second goal was a top goal.
“Numerous chances in the first period we didn’t put away.
“We played against a really good team in Stoke and if you’re not at it, they will hurt you – they’ve got some fantastic players.
Stoke’s Mark Robins:
“Even if you get beaten, you can get beaten in a way that you’ve gone down fighting and that just wasn’t one of those performances, so that was a performance that tells me that one or two of them aren’t bothered about being here.
“I went over afterwards knowing there weren’t going to be flowers thrown. If you get criticised and you don’t like it, suck it up, get on with it and make sure it doesn’t happen again.
“We weren’t able to compete, or we chose not to, whichever one. Going back to the unwritten contract with supporters, we’ve ripped it open, put it in the bin today and it’s unacceptable. Absolutely not.
“That’s not the performance that we need or want at any stage of a season so (we’ve) plenty of work to do.”
