Matthew Clarke’s 64th minute crashing header was the only thing that could separate Derby County and Hull on Saturday, in an evenly matched affair.
Despite the continuous lack of fortune off the pitch, the Rams have begun to see an upturn of fortune on it. The slim victory marks six games unbeaten for Cocu’s side in all competitions and three home victories on the spin, the feat made all that more impressive when you consider play-off hopefuls Hull and their run of brilliant form away from home as of late.
The first half had an air of caution to it. Grant McCann’s side had their pressing cues well-rehearsed for all to see during the opening half, always matching Derby up man for man and frustrating the home side and the fans for large periods, something many managers have already admitted to exploiting when travelling to Pride Park this season.
The visitors blundered the best chance of the half. Star player, Jarrod Bowen, squandered a shot from eight yards out when the ball fell to him unmarked. One thing was for sure, the Rams wouldn’t want to be giving him a second opportunity like that throughout the game and it was a big let off for the home side.
Derby began to edge back into the half in the final ten minutes, giving them much needed momentum going into the second half and buying some much-needed time from the support, who otherwise, may have been critical of the first half performance, playing into the hands of the visitors.
The second half saw both sides open up a little more, Derby notably began to get the ball in space in central areas before quickly spreading it wide continuously to put the visitors on the back-foot time and again.
Given how evenly matched the sides seemed, it was clear that one moment of quality would be needed to separate the two. That moment of quality came in the form of a Tom Lawrence set-piece. The Welshman whipped the ball into the area which on-loan centre half Clarke managed to bury in the back of the net with a towering header.
Both sides continued to push, Derby becoming slightly complacent at the back leading to one or two decisive blocks from Max Lowe and Clarke respectively to deny a simple opportunity for the visiting front-men on two occasions.
Cocu’s side managed the game well from there on out, making sure of a narrow 1-0 victory over the Tigers.
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