Defensive duo and depth make difference for Derby

Derby's long-awaited first win of the campaign came on Saturday, although it perhaps doesn't come as too much of a shock with hosts West Brom failing to beat the Rams in front of fans for 15 years now.

Nevertheless, Derby's luck against the Baggies combined with resolute defensive work and some excellent impact substitutions means it's now five points from five matches for John Eustace's side, with the Championship table finally starting to reflect the Rams' ever-improving performances.

All of Derby's defence, including goalkeeper Jacob Widell Zetterstrom, deserve credit for keeping their side in the game, despite having to ride out constant waves of attacking pressure from the hosts. However, the two standout performances came courtesy of Matt Clarke and Dion Sanderson.

Having received plenty of criticism from fans in his first couple of appearances, Sanderson is now starting to look much more comfortable. Three last-ditch blocks at 0-0 allowed the momentum to shift back in Derby's favour.

It's perhaps no coincidence that under Eustace's leadership he's been able to bed in so quickly, and put a few shaky performances at the start of the campaign behind him. Sanderson has looked much more composed on the ball, and generally more defensively solid.

Another 'first name on the team sheet' contender for the weekend is Clarke. Each game that he steps into his role of commanding Derby's backline he looks better and better.

At the weekend I'm pretty sure West Brom could've crossed a brick into the box and he'd of headed it back, it felt like every attacking threat West Brom possessed was dealt with by Clarke before it could even trouble us.

Fans always love a player who will give their all for the shirt and consistently put their body on the line- Clarke does exactly that week-in, week-out.

Another positive sign for the Rams was seeing new faces be the difference. All too often last season, Derby crumbled at the back end of matches due to having a lack of quality in their substitutions, far too often this led to points being dropped and draws turning into defeats.

Having the likes of Patrick Agyemang and Andreas Weimann available off the bench shows just how vast the improvement in squad depth has been, and ultimately it ended up being four summer signings who crafted the goal that won the game.

Max Johnston and Lewis Travis combined on the right, before Agyemang showed exactly what he's all about in the box by rising highest and outmuscling his marker to flick the ball onto Weimann.

And huge credit must go to the Austrian for his composure to finish off the move. A lot of players would have snatched at the chance and perhaps hit the crowd of bodies ahead, but by biding his time and bettering his striking position, Weimann made no mistake, with the pull-back finish only showcasing his technical experience and quality even more.

It wasn't the prettiest of wins, but against top-half opposition away from home I believe it was exactly the sort of performance Eustace intended to execute.

Looking ahead to Saturday I expect to see a slight shift in our approach. Being at home I would imagine Eustace would like us to be more aggressive from the start, pressing high, looking to have much more of the ball, and ultimately creating more goalscoring opportunities.

A tough test awaits with the visit of Preston North End. The Lilywhites have had a much better start to the campaign than many would have imagined, only losing once in their opening five matches.

Despite this though, with Derby full of confidence and back at Pride Park, I can only see the Rams making the most of their momentum and claiming back-to-back victories.

You can often catch Amelia Warren as a guest on BBC Radio Derby.