Derby’s miserable away form continues with defeat at Sunderland, who have moved to the top of the Championship.
Jobe Bellingham, who is the younger brother of Real Madrid’s Jude, scored a goal that wouldn’t look out of place at the Bernabéu, to help an unchanged Sunderland side get back on track following a 2-1 defeat at Vicarage Road.
After their one hundred percent home record ended in controversial fashion last time out, Derby head coach Paul Warne made four changes to his starting XI. There were first league starts for Tawanda Chirewa and Marcus Harness, and a full debut for Nathaniel Phillips as the Rams switched to a 3-4-2-1 formation, with Kane Wilson also coming back into the side following an injury lay-off.
But the changes were not enough to change Derby’s fortunes on the road. Though they were competitive throughout, those in gold and blue cheaply conceded possession on multiple occasions, while the quality of Regis Le Bris’ exciting young squad shining through in key moments.
The Rams started promisingly, with chances falling to Jerry Yates and Marcus Harness in the opening minutes as reported Manchester United target Anthony Patterson was called into action early on as Harnes’ effort deflected off Chris Mepham and into the goalkeeper’s path.
With Derby working hard, Sunderland were frustrated for much of the first 25 minutes. Most of their best work came from Romain Mundle and, on occasion, the overlapping Dennis Cirkin down the left. But the latter was well dealt with by Kane Wilson, who was the visitors’ main attacking outlet from right wing back.
But then Sunderland began to threaten, Dennis Cirkin dinking the ball in from the left for Bellingham to head wide from eight yards out.
The Black Cats had another go when Chris Rigg robbed Tawanda Chirewa in the middle of the park and played a diagonal pass to Romain Mundle. The net had looked set to bulge, but the winger dragged his shot wide of the far post.
Chirewa conceded possession again with five minutes of the first half to play, and this time Derby were punished. Jobe Bellingham was the man who took the ball off the Wolves loanee, before hitting a fabulous strike from 25 yards out which left Jacob Widell Zetterström with no chance.
Derby ended the first half on the front foot as they pushed for a leveller. Tawanda Chirewa’s effort from five yards out on the left-hand side of the box worked Patterson once more, who would then hold a Nat Phillips header in stoppage time.
After Wilson Isidor had sent a shot wide from an offside position, moments earlier, the Frenchman would get his first goal at the Stadium of Light ten minutes into the second half.
Kane Wilson having stepped up, Romain Mundle showed good feet to cut inside past the wing back and two other defenders before drilling a ball to the near post which Isidor tapped in.
Now two goals up, Sunderland began to take their foot off the gas, while chances began to flow for Derby who gained fresh impetus following a quadruple substitution in the 66th minute, Craig Forsyth, Kayden Jackson, Corey Blackett-Taylor and Nathaniel Mendez-Laing coming on.
The wingers with double-barrelled surnames linked up when Mendez-Laing played a corer short for Blackett-Taylor who chopped around his man and shot from a tight angle, which Patterson caught with ease.
The Sunderland number one then turned sweeper, rushing out of his box to stop Kane Wilson’s through ball reaching Kayden Jackson.
But Derby’s best chances came in a frantic 72nd minute, with Mendez-Laing’s corner headed goalward by Curtis Nelson and cleared off the line. The Rams came again as Kenzo Goudmijn’s cross was met by Nat Phillips, forcing Patterson into an impressive stop before Forsyth’s follow-up went wide.
Warne’s side had a couple more half-chances, Jackson leaving the hosts’ defenders scrambling in the 78th minute, but they couldn’t find a way through.
Analysis: A change of shape, but no change in fortunes
After the arrival of Nat Phillips, it felt as though it was only a matter of time before Paul Warne rolled out his favoured back three. It did offer Derby some more solidity at the back, whilst the inclusion of the Liverpool loanee, captain for the night Eiran Cashin and Curtis Nelson made the Rams a real threat from set pieces, but the selection at the Stadium of Light also left frontman Jerry Yates short of service.
Marcus Harness and Tawanda Chirewa both had quiet nights in creative terms, though the latter did catch the eye for the wrong reasons when he gave the ball away sloppily for the first goal. Whilst both players are talented technically, Derby lacked pace on the wings to run at defenders, with Kane Wilson their best attacking outlet from right wing back. The buffalo made many a charging run down the flank whilst having to deal with Romain Mundle and posed enough problems to Denis Cirkin earned himself an early booking for bringing Wilson down. But Derby failed to exploit the fact that the left back was walking a tight rope: might the earlier introduction of a quicker winger have done that?
Either way, this was a game that, on balance, Derby were never expected to take anything from. Sunderland are flying, having built a promising squad with good financial backing over the five transfer windows since they returned to the Championship. Derby were competitive, as they yet again, faced one of the current top eight on the road. Whilst there are some pretty damning stats surrounding the Rams away form, this being only the second time that they have lost their first four away games in a league season in the past 40 years, with the other the infamous 2007-08 Premier League season.
Viewed with context, though, things aren’t quite as bleak as that stat could suggest. Derby have had a run of away fixtures that have been far from kind to start the season, and there have been positives to take from hard-fought displays. But Paul Warne will need to start turning these positives into points sooner rather than later.
Sunderland (4-2-3-1): Patterson (GK); Hume, Mepham, O’Nien, Cirkin; Neil (C), Jobe; Roberts (Poveda 74’, Watson 85’), Rigg (Browne 74’), Mundle; Isidor (Rusyn 85’).
Substitutes not used: Moore (GK), Fuhr Hjelde, Johnson, Aleksić, Ba.
Derby (3-4-2-1): Zetterström (GK); Phillips (Nyambe 75’), Nelson, Cashin (C); Wilson, Goudmijn, Adams, Osborn; Chirewa (Forsyth 66’), Harness (Jackson 66’), Yates (Blackett-Taylor 66’).
Substitutes not used: Vickers (GK), Bradley, Collins, Brown.
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