Derby County Win at Home Against Middlesbrough: Is This the Start of a New Era for the Rams?

The Rams were in Championship action against Michael Carrick's side and here's how the players fared...

Derby County's Heroic Victory Against Middlesbrough: A Breakdown of the Match

Derby County secured their first Championship win of the season with a 1-0 victory over Middlesbrough at Pride Park Stadium on Saturday. Kayden Jackson's first-half strike and a valiant defensive effort helped the Rams to a crucial victory.

The game was a tense affair from the start, with both sides eager to secure a positive result. Middlesbrough started brightly and had a few early chances, but Derby County's defense held firm. The Rams were also dangerous on the counterattack and eventually found the breakthrough in the 35th minute when Jackson slotted home a well-taken goal.

In the second half, Middlesbrough threw everything at Derby County, but the Rams' defense stood strong and ultimately held on for a hard-fought victory. The victory was a testament to Derby County's resilience and determination.

Derby County Player Ratings: An Analysis of the Individual Performances

Here is a breakdown of the Derby County players' performance:

Josh Vickers: Made some very good saves in the first half as Boro struck from distance. Asserted himself at a couple of crosses and was brilliant against a decent team. Heroic at times. 8.5
Kane Wilson: Had a couple of really good moments when he went forward, but cruelly his afternoon was ended by what looked to be a hamstring injury which was majorly disappointing. 5
Curtis Nelson: There were a couple of moments when he was burned for pace which rarely happened in League One, but he was strong in the air as you would expect from somebody of his size. Towering presence. 7.5
Eiran Cashin: Was having a fabulous game in the heart of the defence, but took a heavy blow to the head and when it first happened there was real concern. Was angry that he had to come off, but his health is number one priority. 6
Callum Elder: Did some really good things across the 90 minutes and was very neat and tidy in the moments that he needed to be. Defended his side of the pitch well. Gets into good positions, but just that final ball sometimes is lacking. 7.5
David Ozoh: Was a couple of times he put himself in trouble, but then there are occasions that he looks head and shoulders above everybody else. Still developing, but he is going to be such a good player when he reaches his peak. 7
Ben Osborn: Fired up and down the pitch, tried to nick possession, tried to get involved in attacks and basically ran himself into the ground trying to help Derby wherever he could. Immense. 8
Kenzo Goudmijn: Not an influential game by his standards, but he got through a lot of work off the ball. He will get better as the season develops. Still very young. 6
Kayden Jackson: Had fire in his belly and ice in his mind. Took his goal brilliantly given he had so much time to think about it which is the worst thing to have as a striker. 6.5
James Collins: A few times when Derby tried to get out attacks broke down as he wasn't quick and tidy enough, but he absolutely put his bundle in everywhere else. 6
Nathaniel Mendez-Laing: Always lurking around the Boro backline in order to either nick possession or press and there were a couple of times he broke the lines. 6

Substitutes

Sonny Bradley (for Cashin, 20 minutes): Aerially strong and created a chance for Osborn in the second half. Was part of a heroic backline. 7
Ryan Nyambe (Wilson, 25): Regarded as a Championship defender and defended like one. Really good. 7.5
Ebou Adams (Goudmijn, 62): Ratted around when he came on. 6
Liam Thompson (Collins, 76): Couldn't really impact the game as Boro had all the ball. 5
Tom Barkhuizen (Mendez-Laing, 76): Tried to get Derby up the pitch. 5
Craig Forsyth (Ozoh, 76): Came on and helped Derby protect their lead. 6

Middlesbrough Player Ratings: A Look at Boro's Struggles

Middlesbrough were unable to build upon their impressive start to the season, falling to a 1-0 defeat at Pride Park.

Here is a breakdown of the Middlesbrough players' performance:

Seny Dieng - 6: There was nothing he could do with the goal as Kayden Jackson was sent through one-on-one with him. Beyond that, he had so little to do, encapsulating how frustrating an afternoon it was for Boro.
Luke Ayling - 6: One great recovery tackle in the second half as Derby broke but it was his lack of quality from wide positions that was telling in this one. Too many good positions were wasted by poor deliveries.
Rav van den Berg - 7: Solid to restrict Derby to nothing but the goal they scored from a Boro error from their own corner. The Dutchman won some big headers and played the majority of the second half as a midfielder he was so advanced.
Matt Clarke - 7: Like Van den Berg alongside him, he was solid throughout defensively and put in some big tackles to protect the Boro goal. Not much the two centre-backs could do about the toothless performance ahead of them.
Lukas Engel - 5: Another game in which the Dane lacked any kind of conviction in possession. He had so many opportunities to make something happen on the left flank and was ultimately so wasteful.
Aidan Morris - 6: Tidy in general as Boro dominated possession but didn't have everything his own way and ultimately couldn't produce any moment of magic to open things up for Boro.
Hayden Hackney - 6: Hackney was trying to make something happen and had one long-range effort saved and thought he'd set Burgzorg up, only for it to be ruled out for offside. No shortage of intention, but just didn't come off on the day.
Isaiah Jones - 5: Having gifted Derby the early goal with his poor error with the backpass, he then ultimately couldn't find a moment of quality to get Boro back into the game.
Finn Azaz - 6: Came as close as any Boro player to finding an equaliser with a number of long-range efforts. Beyond that though, there were other times where he wasn't quite quick enough with the ball and it made Derby finding their shape easier.
Delano Burgzorg - 6: Tried to find a way to provide something a bit different that would open the stubborn Derby defence, but he was ultimately frustrated. One effort from range deflected off the post but many more efforts were blocked in a crowded penalty area as he was guilty at times of shooting when he might have passed.
Emmanuel Latte Lath - 6: No shortage of effort from the striker as he hassled Derby defenders throughout and didn't make life easy. But as far as scoring in a record eighth-consecutive Championship game was concerned, he was starved of quality service, but for one header he didn't look likely to win, that ultimately ended up wide.

Substitutions

Dan Barlaser (For Morris, 68') - 6: Brought on to try and produce something different but found, like Morris before him, Derby were offering few gaps to exploit.
Micah Hamilton (For Jones, 68') - 6: Offered little space and still lacking that connection with team-mates, he couldn't make an impact.
Tommy Conway (For Azaz, 78') - N/A: On for debut amid limited preparation over the summer but was perhaps understandably unable to make an impact.
Josh Coburn (For Hackney, 90') - N/A

Warne's Reaction: A Look at the Manager's Post-Match Comments

Derby County Head Coach Paul Warne admitted his team ‘stepped up a level’ as they played out a lung-busting 1-0 win against Middlesbrough at Pride Park Stadium on Saturday.

Warne spoke to RamsTV after the win about how new signings are pushing the whole squad to compete, the pressure of holding out for the win and feeling incredibly proud of his group. He said, “I’m not as exhausted as the lads and the fans but I think I speak for everybody - check your passport and your driver's licence because everyone's aged by about 10 years! It was an absolute tester. We have stepped up a level and brought some fresh faces in. We obviously need to bring more fresh faces in, still, as well. To a man, I thought the lads worked really hard. There are certain games where you can't go toe-to-toe and press at the front of the pitch because of the quality the opposition have got. I don't mind saying it because the lads know it; they've got quicker and better athletes. You're just going to get picked off and look stupid if you do that. We had to be succinct in our shape and we had to press from that and we had to counter.”

He continued, “Fortunately, we got the goal from it and at times I thought we looked quite dangerous. When the fatigue kicked in, which it did when we won the ball back, we couldn't see the wood for the trees and we gave it back to them too many times. That doesn't go away from the fact of how proud I am. I was prouder of them today than I was at home to Carlisle back in April when we got promoted because I know how good the opposition are, how many questions they ask of you and how much pace they've got everywhere.”

“It does look easy, doesn't it? But he was through and everyone's going: 'go on, there's no one near you, just keep running!' You can feel the whole crowd, including myself, saying it. As a player, you've got the ball at your feet and you're running and you're thinking: 'don't mess this up, don't mess this up, this is the right chance to score. Come on, mate, you've got this, you've got this, you've got this.' And the whole time, it's like time slows down. You can talk yourself out of it! The best players don't and and Kayden has taken it really calmly around the goalkeeper and that is an amazing feeling when you know you're just putting it into an empty net. It was a good goal and deserved from the way the lads broke from the press. All 30,000 of us, including myself, thought he would score but until it hits the net, you just don't know.”

Warne praised the performance of his goalkeeper, Josh Vickers, stating, “Josh was a lot more like himself today, which is great. We want goalkeepers to compete. That's why you try and sign players that you think are better than what you've got. That sounds awful, but you want players that push others on. Our job as a football club is to sign another striker to compete with Jerry Yates, to compete with Dajaune Brown, to compete with Collo and Wash. You want someone who comes in and the ones below are thinking they aren't happy and need to train harder and get better. That is what competition does.”

“I thought Middlesbrough were excellent; they'll be a top six team. We're competing against really good sides that have spent a lot of money, but that's why you want to be in this league. To get three points is big and you need everything to go your way. It felt like one of those days today where I thought everything would go our way. Josh was a massive part of it, his contribution was phenomenal.”

Looking Ahead: The Road Ahead for Both Teams

Derby County will be looking to build on their victory and gain some momentum as they prepare for their upcoming fixtures. Meanwhile, Middlesbrough will be aiming to bounce back from this defeat and continue their quest for promotion.

Both teams have shown they have the potential to challenge for promotion, but only time will tell if they can maintain this form throughout the season.