SILENCE IS GOLDEN AS RAMS RISE
Derby’s Rooney revival rolls on
WAYNE Rooney banned his players from saying anything to Huddersfield, but Derby still did all the talking.
Ex-Rams Richard Keogh and Duane Holmes, who only left a few weeks ago, returned to Pride Park with Huddersfield. And Rooney warned he wanted no old mates’ reunion.
Keogh, twice player of the season in seven years at Derby, left in controversy, his contract cancelled after a car crash that involved team-mates Tom Lawrence and Mason Bennett 16 months ago. Keogh is thought to have won a £2million pay-off from Derby in an appeal – but got nothing out of this game.
This was Derby’s sixth win in eight games in a Rooney revival that is carrying them to Championship safety.
Huddersfield had been on such a downer after eight league games without a win that last Saturday’s 4-1 thumping of promotion-chasing Swansea was a huge shock.
Rooney didn’t want that carrying on and told his players pre-match not to chat to Keogh or Holmes.They did the talking on the pitch and new central defender George Edmundson put them ahead in the 22nd minute.
Edmundson, who joined the Rams on loan from Rangers last month, took his first goal in nearly a year very well. Nathan Byrne had caused panic with a corner that was headed off the line by Naby Sarr.
But the danger wasn’t over as Byrne put the ball back in and Edmundson took his moment and got his head to it.
Huddersfield hadn’t won away since October, a run of 10 games for three points and sub Martyn Waghorn finished them off in the 65th minute with his first goal in four months after a magnificent Colin Kazim-Richards through-ball.
Huddersfield substitute Jaden Brown was sent off for two yellows.
DERBY (3-5-2): Marshall 7; Clarke 7, Wisdom 7, Edmundson 7 (Waghorn 46, 7); Byrne 7, Bird 6, Shinnie 7, Knight 7 (Watson 90), Buchanan 7; Gregory 6 (Jozwiak 46, 5), Kazim-Richards 8.
Goals: Edmundson 22, Waghorn 65.
HUDDERSFIELD (3-5-2): Schofield 6; Duhaney 6, Keogh 6, Sarr 6; Pipa 7 (Thomas 84), Bacuna 6 (Mbenza 68,5), O’Brien 6, Vallejo 6, Rowe 7 (Brown 74); Campbell 5, Holmes 5 (High 74).
Sent off: Brown.