Salvesen snatches win for Derby against Hull

Lars-Jorgen Salvesen's winner against Hull City was his first goal of the season

Lars-Jorgen Salvesen pounced on a goalkeeping mistake from Ivor Pandur to score Derby County's winner against Hull City with his first touch of the game.

Pandur slipped in the rain-soaked conditions at Pride Park and scuffed his clearance into the path of the Rams substitute, who coolly slotted the ball into an unguarded net in the 83rd minute.

Carlton Morris' fifth goal in three games had put the hosts ahead in the 27th minute, with the striker meeting Joe Ward's corner with a towering header to finish.

Joel Ndala scrambled home Hull's second-half equaliser from a sitting position after he collided with Rams defender Ward and goalkeeper Jacob Widell Zetterstrom.

The error from Pandur late on, however, gifted Salvesen the chance to extend Derby's winning run to four games with his first goal of the season and first since returning to action after undergoing knee surgery last season.

The Norwegian's late effort to condemn Hull to their first defeat in seven games was also enough to lift the Rams into the top half of the Championship table.

In a rain-lashed first half of few opportunities, Hull were the first to seriously threaten when Matt Crooks slammed a 14th-minute effort off the crossbar from 25 yards.

Derby's chances came in a concentrated torrent just before the half-hour mark.

Charlie Hughes denied the Rams' twice in less than 60 seconds, first with a sliding block to frustrate Patrick Agyemang before the defender then charged down a fierce shot from Ben Brereton Diaz.

But it was from the resulting corner that Morris broke the deadlock, as he leapt over the static figure of Semi Ajayi at the front post to nod home.

After both goalkeepers were called into action early in the second half - with Callum Elder testing Hull's Pandur, before a reaction save from Zetterstrom denied Crooks at the other end – Ndala managed to force home an equaliser for the visitors.

While Ndala was sandwiched in a collision with Rams defender Ward and Zetterstrom as he chased down a threaded pass from Regan Slater, the ball broke kindly for him to swivel on his backside to finish from point-blank range.

It was a chaotic leveller that would go on to be overshadowed by the muddled nature with which the Tigers gave up the decisive goal, with Pandur and the visiting defence punished by Salvesen after hesitating when trying to deal with a speculative long ball forward.

Eustace 'proud' of Salvesen's winner - reaction

Derby County boss John Eustace told BBC Radio Derby:

"I thought first half we were excellent. We were playing against a really good team that had been six unbeaten, and who had a couple of really good wins.

"In the second half we lost our way a little bit, we dropped too deep. But it's about the squad and we found a way in the second half to make sure we got the three points.

"I thought the way we defended the box was excellent, Jake [Widell Zetterstrom] made a couple of top saves. And when you are going through difficult moments you have to defend with your life, and we certainly did that in the second half.

"I'm really proud of Lars [Salvesen] scoring. He has obviously been through a lot since he has been at the football club and he has worked his absolute socks off to get into a position to challenge Carlton [Morris] and to get onto the bench. I thought he took his goal very well."

Hull City head coach Sergej Jakirovic told BBC Radio Humberside:

"It's always frustrating when you lose the game, but I think we played very well today. Especially in the second half when we controlled everything and we scored a nice goal.

"But in the end we unfortunately made two mistakes today and we were punished with two goals. Especially the second one, it's an easy situation. But these things happen in football.

On what he will say to goalkeeper Ivor Pandur after the error that cost Hull: "Head up and we continue. We will go on, because what can you do? You can't change anything. You can just take the lesson from this situation and keep going forward."