Derby County 3-0 Rotherham United
- Published
Derby County extended their unbeaten Championship run to nine games with victory over Rotherham United.
Andreas Weimann poked in his first goal for the Rams from six yards to give Paul Clement's side an early lead.
Midfielder Jacob Butterfield then opened his account for Derby with a long-range shot on the stroke of half-time to double their advantage.
Chris Martin hit the bar with a free-kick for the Rams before Richard Keogh lashed in a third to seal the points.
Derby have not lost since being beaten by Leeds at the iPro Stadium on 29 August, and have now won seven games during their unbeaten run to climb to fifth and within a point of the automatic promotion places.
Rotherham, meanwhile, slipped to the bottom of the table ahead of Bolton's evening kick-off at Preston and are yet to win in four matches under new boss Neil Redfearn.
Derby needed only seven minutes to take the lead when Butterfield and Craig Forsyth combined to set up Weimann, replacing the injured Tom Ince, and the former Aston Villa striker stabbed into the roof of the net.
Jonson Clarke-Harris forced a couple of saves from Derby keeper Scott Carson as Rotherham sought an equaliser, only for Butterfield's shot from distance to give Derby control.
Weimann saw a lob cleared off the line as they continued to dominate, and after Martin had hit the bar, Keogh fired home his first goal since December 2013 from close range to wrap up a convincing win.
Derby manager Paul Clement:
"I am learning about my players all the time. They are showing so many different qualities now, whether it be the team spirit or dealing with different styles of football.
"The momentum is really building and we are enjoying the way we are playing and we are full of confidence.
"I had some concerns going into the game, but it was a solid afternoon from start to finish. We had a really good start and we controlled the game and finished the half strongly."
Rotherham boss Neil Redfearn:
"That was not acceptable. I accept the odd mistake now and again but not the lack of work-rate and wanting to win and that was apparent today.
"Players have got to take responsibility. You put a game plan together and they go out there, it's up to the players to take the bull by the horns, and once we let them get in their stride we never laid a glove on them and that is really disappointing.
"They were worthy 3-0 winners to be honest. We have got a lot of work to do, we have got to bring some players in, that's a fact."
- Published20 June 2016
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