RUTHLESS NUGENT SPARKS RAM RAID Quickfire Derby move up to third
DERBY manager Gary Rowett praised striker David Nugent after his brace in five mad minutes saw the Rams thrash Millwall to move up to third in the Championship.
Three goals in a frantic spell midway through the first half put the game beyond the visitors with top scorer Matej Vydra’s 20-yard effort the filling between two slices of Nugent magic.
“It was an unusual game because the way Millwall play, they made it really difficult for us and when we moved the ball, we showed some composure and got into some really good positions,” said Rowett.
“Our goals summed us up – a lot of effort and energy – and though we probably didn’t deserve a clean sheet, Scott Carson made some excellent saves, though I’d prefer it if we didn’t have to do that, particularly when we’re 3-0 up.
“Nugent is so important for us and you saw it after 60 minutes, chasing a ball down in the corner. It’s invaluable. Look at the work rate of Nugent, Vydra and Weimann – it must be terrible to play against.”
An even first quarter saw the best chance come for the Lions, a Lee Gregory effort cleared off the line by Curtis Davies after Carson had forced the striker out wide.
The opening goal came in the 23rd minute when a low corner into the near post from Chris Baird was exquisitely flicked into the bottom corner by Nugent.
Within two minutes the strike partnership of Vydra and Nugent combined to double the lead with the latter finishMore ing from 20 yards after an errant pass towards goal was intercepted by Nugent, who laid off for his partner to fire home.
Two minutes later, Nugent volleyed home a Bradley Johnson cross on the front post.
The Lions recovered well and had chances to open their account in the second half as George Saville’s volley was expertly tipped over the bar by an unsighted Carson.
The former England goalkeeper was again on hand to deny Gregory with a pointblank save inside 10 yards as Millwall threatened to find a glimmer of hope.
chances came for the home side too, as some scintillating one-touch football saw Weimann in acres of space inside the box, before his shot was cleared off the line by Shaun Hutchinson.
Substitute Sam Winnall went close in the final 10 minutes of the game after a quick break allowed the striker to cut inside before firing a shot towards goal that was deflected wide.
The result moved the Rams into third place, just three points adrift of automatic promotion, while Millwall boss Neil Harris bemoaned a mad five minutes that saw their three-match unbeaten run end.
“We’ve had a lot of good moments on the road this season where we’ve had chances but not took them, and that’s the difference between the top six and us,” he said.
“We’ve made three of four errors today and we’ve conceded three goals and that’s the frustration and the realism of knowing where we are. It’s a reality check and we’ll take that on the chin.
“Where we are as a club, we can’t afford to have five-minute spells like that. We gifted Derby the goals and it’s how we react and today was poor – they’ve got too many good players to give away cheap goals.”