With Paul Clement relieving the pressure on Saturday with his first win, on Tuesday night his team started building some momentum with a second consecutive away win.

Derby don’t look like world beaters just yet but they definitely are showing signs of a side that are coming to terms with the way the new Manager wants them to play. Starting by becoming solid at the back and solidifying the midfield — then grinding out wins by wearing down the opposition.

Not always pretty but definitely an effective way of rising up the table if you can replicate effort each match while improving as well.

Paul Clement seemingly enjoys surprising fans on a game by game basis with his player selections — but as apposed to Saturday fans were happy with the names back on the starting team sheet.

Carson replaced Grant in goal despite his great performance on Saturday, Forsyth came in for Warnock and Hendrick came in for Chris Baird. The most surprising move was the Captains armband being handed to Chris Martin instead of the obvious choices of Shackell or Keogh.

I am starting to believe that Mr. Clement enjoys flummoxing Rams fans — you can only but wonder what he will come up with next… Jake Buxton up top perhaps?

On the pitch things were lively from the opening whistle as both sides were playing a high tempo in the opening exchanges with Reading probably shading early exchanges.

Tshibola had a powerful shot deflected over the bar while Chris Martin should have scored but instead wasted a good chance to open the Rams account.

Hendrick shot wide and Keogh headed straight at the keeper when either side of the stopper would have been a better option.

Similar to his performance on Saturday, Butterfield continued shooting at every opportunity, much like an impatient 15 year old playing Call Of Duty, twice pulling the trigger but twice coming up short against Reading’s desperate defence.

Norwood nearly pulled off a 30 yard screamer but Carson was brilliant in turning the on target shot away with a one handed save.

Despite both teams best efforts, the match seemed destined to end the half in a stalemate, and although that fact became reality, the number of players on the pitch would instead be the discrepancy.

The match was turned on its head when Orlando Sa, Reading’s hat-trick hero from Saturday, got into a dispute with Jason Shackell. In what was a moment of madness, Sa found himself sent off for an alleged head-butt on the Derby defender while Shackell also received a yellow card for his involvement.

HT: 0-0

With a numerical advantage, the Rams went about taking control once the second 45 got underway.

Despite their dominance, Derby were struggling to create a clear chance with a lack of that quality final ball that would break the deadlock.

One of the Rams big summer signings Tom Ince, has been struggling to capture his form of last season and for over an hour had done little to change things, that was until a classy passage of play put Derby ahead.

Butterfield fed the ball to Martin, who charged out from Derby’s defence and as he got forward cleverly played a ball perfectly into the path of the onrushing Ince. Tom took a touch before beating Bond to score, directly in front of the travelling Rams fans, who unsurprisingly broke into wild celebrations.

Ince with his first for the season, which we can only hope builds his confidence and inspires more goals and the attacking thrusts he brought to Derby when on loan last season.

Reading tried to get back into the match as Norwood shot wide from distance and a Blackman free kick flew over the crossbar. Williams had a shot blocked and Robson-Kanu headed over from a corner.

The Rams were under pressure but defended resolutely as the home team pressed forward to try and take something from the game.

In the end, for the second match in a row, the Rams went ahead and held onto a lead, which will please Paul Clement, let alone fans who only a week ago were worrying what may become of the season.

FT: 0-1

Up to 10th on the table and things looking more positive for DCFC, after a slow start, a promotion push once again looks like a realistic goal for the season. Clement and his team now get a bit of an extended break with their next match not until Monday night at the iPro against Burnley — scheduled to suit the television schedule.

With both teams fresh from wins Tuesday night — it is a tasty fixture between a newly relegated team and a promotion hopeful. Both camps will be desperate to stamp their authority on the Championship this season — not just in front of the Derby home faithful but so many more watching worldwide.

Mouth-watering…. Monday can’t come fast enough!

COYR!!

Match Info / Teams:

Crowd: 15,697 (1,293 Travelling Rams)

Goals: Ince (69’)

Referee: A. Davies

Bookings: Tshibola (Yellow 24’), Sa (Red 45’+ 3’) Shackell (Yellow 45+4), Johnson ( Yellow 62’), Norwood (Yellow 90’)

Reading: Bond; Gunter, McShane, Hector, Obita;, Norwood, Tshibola (McCleary 80’), Quinn (Robson-Kanu 68’), Blackman, Sa, Vydra (Williams 63’). Subs: Al-Habsi, Piazon, John, Cooper.

Derby: Carson; Christie, Keogh, Shackell, Forsyth; Johnson, Butterfield (Hanson 75’), Hendrick (Bent 61’); Ince (Weimann 84’), Russell, Martin. Subs: Grant, Pearce, Warnock, Dawkins.

Gaffers Reaction:

Match Highlights:

Photo: Action Images

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