Morley's Match Musings: Hull Of A Performance Shows Rams Are Up For Fight
Sunday, 29th Nov 2015 11:55 by Nathan Morley

What a wonderful result, with so many good individual performances against Hull, it was a victory that holds such importance in the wider promotion picture.

Friday night was the night that Derby confirmed to the rest of the division that they’re up for the fight.

I would certainly have taken a point before the game, especially as prior to the match Hull had only conceded 3 league goals at home and had swept Middlesbrough aside with a 3-0 win earlier this month.

Adding to that, I thought Bradley Johnson’s powerful presence would be missed, particularly with it being at the KC.

It felt like a compete performance with everything; attacking intensity, control of the midfield areas, good finishing, hard work from everyone across the pitch and good work to defend the lead. In fact I don’t think Hull ever looked especially like getting back into the game apart from the odd chance. Paul Clement must be very pleased and may well look back on that night as a real turning in the months to come.

One real positive was the clean sheet, not least down to the magnificent Scott Carson who pulled off some wonderful saves. Peter Shilton would be proud of Carson’s save in the few minutes leading up to half-time. A strong pair of hands has clearly helped confidence in his defenders, including the full-backs.

I’m happy to say I was wrong about Stephen Warnock last season. Think back to his debut against Reading in the FA Cup and his sending off. Now he is solid defensively and full of energy going forward. Cyrus Christie also put in a good shift last night, the improvement in him is clear and on show a lot going forward.

That’s two players I have mentioned who were often criticised by fans (and rightly so at times) in the past but now look like different players, is it down to Clement on the training pitch?

Don’t forget Andy Weimann too, he had a difficult start and struggled for match time but now he is in the side and working very hard on the pitch - displaying Premier League class that he has brought with him after his switch from Aston Villa.

The most impressive aspect of the win is that is was clearly a team effort, from the goalkeeper to the forwards. Keogh and Shackell continue to work well together and look like they have been playing alongside each other for longer than they have.

Of course in the midfield there’s Thorne. The guy’s a class act, we know that, yet I have to say I’d forgotten about his age — a recent article in the Derby Telegraph reminded readers that he is still only 22. George displays exceptional maturity for his age on the pitch and has contributed massively in Derby winning the midfield battle against some quality Hull players.

Alongside Thorne in the midfield, Hendrick had a good game, as did Jacob Butterfield with his two superb strikes. The Tigers goalkeeper stood no chance and will do his confidence the world of good; he is starting to show his worth and is a valuable player, especially in the absence of Will Hughes.

In attack, Weimann again put in a good shift, Ince meanwhile didn’t quite get a break against his former club, but he is always a threat and is improving his defensive game. Martin demonstrated that he doesn’t have to score to have a great game — his neat touches and link-up play is brilliant.

The win itself was fantastic but being top of the table, even if for only just under 24 hours, was a great feeling that we hopefully will experience again before too long.

Next weekend The Rams play another promotion rival with yet another TV fixture on Sunday against a strong Sheffield Wednesday side.

Perhaps once again the Rams will have the opportunity to climb to the pinnacle of the Championship, if so; perhaps this time it will be a more permanent visit.

For more of Nathan's articles you can read his blog at www.derbycountyfan.com and follow him via @ramscorner on Twitter.

We said / They Said:

Derby head coach Paul Clement:

"It's a really pleasing victory. They're a good side, they put us under pressure and they had some really good chances - but we can be really happy. The goals came at really good moments and that gave us that cushion and that ability to make sure we were defending resiliently and picking them off on counter-attacks.”

"Our best football was in the first half but overall the defending of the team was excellent. For the first time this season we're at the top of the table."

Hull Boss - Steve Bruce:

"In the first 20-25 minutes we've probably made more mistakes defensively than we have all season and I think that was the difference. We've made big errors, given the ball away cheaply and I have to take responsibility too with the way I set us up to start with.”

"Maybe it was too many changes with the absentees that we've had. However, in the second half when we changed it a bit, we needed to get that goal and we've had enough opportunities. We haven't quite managed to take one."