Derby County have moved up to third in the Championship table courtesy of a comfortable 2-0 victory over Leeds United at the iPro Stadium this evening.
© Getty Images
After a quiet opening to the match, Derby began to apply pressure in the closing stages of the first half, and only a smart piece of defending from Liam Cooper prevented Chris Martin from tapping in Cyrus Christie's cross.
That proved to be merely a case of delaying the inevitable, however, as the hosts broke the deadlock in fortuitous circumstances just three minutes later.
Will Hughes did well down the flank before cutting the ball back into the middle, where Alex Mowatt could not avoid turning it into his own net.
The Rams almost doubled their advantage right on the stroke of half time as Richard Keogh met Hughes's free kick, but Marco Silvestri produced a fine save to deny the defender before also thwarting Jordon Ibe from the resulting corner.
They quickly picked up where they left off after the break and got their second goal just two minutes into the half when Jake Buxton nodded Jeff Hendrick's free kick into the top corner.
They could have made it three just before the hour mark when Martin rose to meet Craig Forsyth's cross, but he couldn't steer his effort on target.
Leeds created a chance of their own just a minute later as Mirko Antenucci reacted quickest to a loose ball inside the box, only to see his effort blocked.
There was to be no way through for the visitors, however, as they end the year just one point clear of the relegation zone having now gone five matches without a win.
Barney Corkhill
