Rams Come From Behind

Derby County came from behind to beat Bristol City 2-1 at Pride Park with Callum Ball scoring his first senior goal for the club to secure the win. After a forgettable first half Ball was introduced at the break but City took the lead just before the hour when Martyn Woolford was played through on goal and he neatly slipped the ball under Frank Fielding. The Rams struck back eight minutes later after a run and cross from Jamie Ward ended with Craig Bryson tapping in from close range and when a shot broke to Ball just inside the area the youngster`s shot squeezed under David James and looped into the net to complete the turnaround. Substitute Brett Pitman came close with a clever flick from a low freekick but City couldn`t find their way back into the match and Derby claimed a much needed victory.

Nigel Clough named the same starting line-up for the third successive match with Tamas Priskin continuing by himself up front but despite The Rams seeing plenty of the ball early on the Hungarian striker could not get himself into the game. The visitors were the first to threaten on ten minutes when Martyn Woolford latched onto a Cole Skuse throw and his swerving low effort was kept out by Frank Fielding before being put behind for a corner and when the resulting set piece was only half cleared Albert Adomah`s dipping effort was not far over from the edge of the area.

Derby made some promising breaks forward but were unable to test David James in the City goal with a scuffed effort from Jeff Hendrick the only real moment of note. The game evened out as the visitors getting themselves back into the match but with chances at a premium it wasn`t until a minute before halftime that the next effort on target came when Nicky Maynard turned Shaun Barker and fired an effort towards the top corner that was superbly kept out by Fielding to keep the scores level.

Callum Ball was introduced at the break in place of Priskin to give Derby some more physical presence up front but it was City who took the lead just before the hour mark when a quick break from The Rams was thwarted and Marvin Elliott and Adomah combined to release Woolford down the left and he slipped the ball under Fielding with a neat finish. Derby weren`t behind for long however and were level eight minutes later when Jamie Ward beat two defenders down the left before his low centre was turned into the net from close range by Craig Bryson.

The Scottish midfielder was involved again as The Rams took the lead with seventeen minutes to go when his attempted shot from the edge of the box fell nicely for Ball and his low shot beat James and looped into the net for his first goal of the season. The youngster came close to adding a third after another run from Ward but James made a sharp low save to keep his effort out of the net. City came close when substitute Brett Pitman flicked a low freekick from Neil Kilkenny just wide of the mark and despite a nervous finish The Rams held on to claim their first win in seven matches.

Derby County: Fielding, Green, Barker, Shackell, Roberts, Bailey (O'Brien 90), Bryson, Hendrick, B Davies (Bennett 71), Ward, Priskin (Ball 46).

Subs Not Used: Legzdins, Buxton.

Bristol City: James, Fontaine, Elliott, Kilkenny (Campbell-Ryce 90), Maynard, Woolford, Skuse, Wilson, Cisse (Pitman 69), Adomah, McGivern (Nyatanga 48).

Subs Not Used: Gerken, Bolasie.

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