FROM WAG TO RICHES

Move over Rooney, Martyn is the new free-kick specialist for Rams

Derby County Cardiff

WHAT’S Wayne Rooney going to do now?

Never mind being touted as a replacement for under-pressure boss Phillip Cocu, Rooney might not even get picked when he’s free from Covid-19 isolation.

Cocu has put together a decent team in Rooney ’s three-game absence and Martyn Waghorn has taken over Rooney’s job as freekick expert.

Waghorn hit a cracker to get Derby a draw at Nottingham Forest on Friday and last night’s 20-yarder took Rams out of the Championship’s bottom three.

It also and ended a dismal home run of five successive league defeats.

Tom Lawrence was down for quite a while for treatment after winning the free-kick and Waghorn waitied patiently with the the ball under his arm.

Then he placed it, looked up, and belted his shot left-footed past keeper Alex Smithies.

It wasn’t as spectacular as the goal against Forest, but it was Derby’s first home league goal this season.

But li ke at Fore st, Derby couldn’t hold on to what Waghorn had given them and a late Cardiff equaliser means they still haven’t won at home in the league since June.

Cardiff, away-day specialists under manager Neil Harris with 11 on-the-road wins since he took over in November, went close to equalising with both Kief fer Moore and Junior Hoilett hitting the woodwork.

Moore also wasted a great second-half chance by failing to get a touch on Sheyi Ojo’s superb cross, but in the 77th minute the Ojo-moore combo worked.

Ojo slid Moore through and the striker made no mistake.

DERBY COUNTY: Roos 6, Wisdom 6, Davies 7, Clarke 6, Byrne 6

(Forsyth 5, 64), Knight 6, Shinnie 7, Buchanan 7 (Te Wierik 78, 5), Jozwiak 6, Waghorn 8, Lawrence 7 ( KazimRichards 83).

CARDIFF CITY: Smithies 6, Bacuna 6, Nelson 7, Morrison 7, Bennett 6, Pack 7, Vaulks 6 (Glatzel 5, 64), Ojo 7, Ralls 6, Hoilett 6, Moore 6.

REFEREE: Oliver Langford