Article body analysed
Football
Derby County
vs Preston North End. Sky Bet Championship.
7: 45pm, Wednesday 2nd April 2025.
Pride Park Stadium Attendance: Attendance26, 014.
Report and free match highlights from the Sky Bet Championship match between Derby County and Preston North End at Pride Park on Wednesday night; goals from Craig Forsyth and Jerry Yates move John Eustace's Rams out of the relegation zone Wednesday 2 April 2025 22: 58, UK Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player Craig Forsyth and Jerry Yates both scored at the start of the second half as Derby climbed out of the Sky Bet Championship relegation zone with a 2-0 victory over Preston at Pride Park. After losing his opening three matches as manager, John Eustace has turned the Rams' fortunes around and on Wednesday led them to a fourth straight victory to secure their longest winning run since July 2020. Milutin Osmajic ought to have given Preston the lead with the very first attack of the game but Derby caught their opponents cold with a quick-fire double after a forgettable first half. Two goals in four minutes courtesy of Forsyth's opener and Yates' eighth goal of the season dealt North End a sucker punch they could not recover from and took Derby above the dotted line for the first time since February. Injury-hit Preston switched their attention back to the bread and butter and made five changes from their FA Cup quarter-final defeat by Aston Villa while Eustace opted for Ryan Nyambe over Kane Wilson with his only change. Preston were gifted an opportunity to take the lead inside two minutes as Nyambe's underhit back pass looped into the path of Osmajic but he aimed straight at Jacob Zetterstrom with a tame finish. Preston shared more possession of the ball but neither side offered nothing by the way of quality in what was a lacklustre opening quarter to the game.
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Derby were close to opening the scoring with their first real foray forward midway through the half as Wilson teased a ball into the area but Marcus Harness could only flash his header across the face of goal. The visitors had an opportunity on the stroke of half-time when Callum Elder brought down Kaine Kesler-Hayden outside the box but the end product summed up a first period low on quality. But it only took three minutes of the second half for the Rams to open the scoring. Elder's corner caused confusion inside the box but the ball fell kindly for Forsyth, who coolly dispatched into the far corner. The hosts caught their opposition cold following the interval and doubled their advantage four minutes later through Yates' first goal in eight games. Elder once again provided the cross onto the head of Nat Phillips who nodded goalwards and Yates was waiting to divert it beyond David Cornell. Preston went in search of an equaliser and thought they should have had a penalty when Phillips brought down Emil Riis inside the area. However, referee Stephen Martin pointed for a corner which left Paul Heckingbottom with his hands on his head and a crucial three points handed to Derby in their fight for survival. Derby's John Eustace: We grew into the game, the first half when we won the ball we needed to be better in the final third. "I was confident coming in at half-time if we stuck to the game plan the second half would open up. "It was important when we won the ball back that we kept the ball better. The work the group and staff are putting in is there for everyone to see. "I thought we deserved the win. We were up against a solid Championship team full of Championship experience, excellent manager, so we knew it was going to be tight. " "One of the reasons I came to the football club was the magnificent home support. It's close to 30, 000 here every week. "The fans are playing a huge part in what we are doing at the moment. I wanted to come here and create a family and togetherness that can help Derby in the future and I think we are starting to do that slowly. "It's just important fans buy into what we are doing here. Derby's a fantastic football club and I'm here for the long term not the next two or three months. " Preston's Paul Heckingbottom: "That 10-minute spell took the game away from us. "It's horrible getting beat, but the frustrations of how much we were in control of dealing with their threats. All of a sudden we're not winning duels and leaving men at set-plays. "These last games - including this one - it's about building for next season but reinforcing what to do well and what we need to do better. We need to be better at the top end of the pitch. "Set-plays, I bang on about them all the time. You need to have pride. " The £250, 000 is up for grabs with Super 6, and as always it is completely free to play. Entries by 3pm Saturday.
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