Adams unleashed in victory over Baggies

On a day full of twists and turns in the Championship relegation battle, Derby secured a vital 3-1 win at West Brom.

With the rest of the bottom five picking up points too, only a win kept Derby’s fate in their own hands. And it also spelt the end of Tony Mowbray’s second spell at The Hawthorns by all but ending their play-off hopes.

After Friday’s defeat to Luton, goals from Ebou Adams, Jerry Yates and Nathaniel Mendez-Laing gave Rams fans renewed hope, with the reinstating of Liam Thompson a key factor in the victory.

Coming off the back of a defeat to fellow play-off hopefuls Coventry, some Baggies fans felt that they should have had a penalty early on. Their creator-in-chief Tom Fellows cut inside and was dispossessed by Adams.

Moments later, though, The Rams skipper headed his side in front, meeting Marcus Harness’ corner at the near post. An already subdued home crowd sounded further dejected by the Gambian’s bullet header.

What was then still Mowbray’s side struggled to turn the screw in response, coming closest when Fellows found himself one-on-one with Josh Vickers from a tight angle, but failed to find a teammate.

Derby scored a second on the half hour mark. From another corner, Harness’s near-post delivery was flicked on by Sondre Langås to Matt Clarke before Yates tapped in from close range for his tenth of the season.

Now West Brom looked to respond. Issac Price’s ambitious 30-yard, curling effort caught Derby off guard, but clattered off the outside of Josh Vickers’ left-hand post.

And the goalkeeper, in for the injured Jacob Widell Zetterström, made a remarkable save to deny Fellows three minutes later. Mikey Johnston got round Langås to cross from the byline to the centre of the box before Vickers got down low to his right to tip his fellow number 31’s surely-goal-bound volley behind.

The second half was uneventful until a 63rd minute quadruple change for the hosts, a big roll of the dice from Mowbray. But the impact of Daryl Dike, Jed Wallace, Karlan Grant and chiefly Adam Armstong, was akin to a double six.

As was the case throughout Derby’s four-game winning run, they were comfortable in continuing their characteristically spirited defending as they sat behind the ball. But Mowbray’s changes saw the hosts crank up both the tempo and the pressure on the Derby backline. It seemed a matter of when, not if, they would score.

 The goal came in the 70th minute, Grady Diangana playing Adam Armstong in one-on-one with a peach of a through ball, before he slotted the ball through the legs of Vickers.

With Luton two up against Bristol City, and momentum firmly against Eustace’s side at The Hawthorns, now it was nervy. Anything less thana win would see The Rams slip behind The Hatters.

But these anxieties were calmed with three minutes of normal time to go, substitute Mendez-Laing, who went to hospital with a suspected broken eye socket on Friday, making an instant impact.

The number 11 made a great run forward after a ball over the top which he flicked over Griffiths before bringing the ball back down and finishing into the far bottom corner from a tight angle. A remarkable individual goal in front of the delighted away fans. A goal that would ultimately seal Tony Mowbray’s dismissal.

Analysis: Thompson helps Derby back to their best

Two of supporters’ biggest gripes from Friday lunchtime (including mine) were that the game had been crying out for Liam Thompson and that Derby lacked threat from corners with poorly executed short routines. But in the West Midlands these were resolved to be crucial factors in The Rams’ victory.

In terms of corners, Harness’ deliveries were the most effective they have been for a few games. Ebou Adams’ goal is a good header, after he lost his marker well in Kyle Bartley, while the second from Jerry Yates is the sort of thing Derby have clearly been trying to do in recent weeks – harnessing (no pun intended) the skills of aerially dominant defenders to carve out chances for the likes of Yates in the absence of a traditional ‘target man’.

Regarding Thompson, while he may not be the most technical in possession, the academy graduate works incredibly hard off the ball, and his presence unleashes Adams.

With Thompson in the team, Adams can use his “pace and power to get us up the pitch” as John Eustace put it the other week. While Adams too is hardly a flashy dribbler of the ball, he and Thompson have the combative qualities needed to succeed when playing so much of games without the ball.

The captain’s display was that of an all-action midfielder, with a goal and an assist, while winning the most fouls, tackles and duels of any player on the pitch. He is proving more effective going forward than Derby’s conventional attackers, provided Thompson is in the side, while remaining up there with some of the league’s best out of possession.

With Luton and Hull winning, in many ways it’s as you were for Derby as the race gets even tighter around them. But this victory is significant, not only in keeping control of their own destiny, but building some momentum ahead of Saturday’s trip to The Tigers.

One thing is clear though, to have the best chance of leaving Humberside with a win, Eustace should embrace many of the qualities he had as a player, by starting a battling midfield trio of Harrison Armstrong, Liam Thompson and Ebou Adams.

Derby (3-5-2): Vickers (GK); Langås, Phillips, Clarke; Wilson, Armstrong, Adams (C), Thompson, Forsyth; Yates (Mendez-Laing 86’), Harness (Jackson 81’).

Substitutes not used: Luthra (GK), Barkhuizen, Osborn, Goudmijn, Rooney, Pieters, Wheeldon.

West Brom (4-2-3-1): Griffiths (GK); Furlong (Armstrong 63’), Bartley, Holgate (Dike 63’), Heggem; Price, Diakité (Mowatt 79’); Fellows, Diangana, Johnston (Wallace 63’); Lankshear (Grant 63’).

Substitutes not used: Wildsmith (GK), Frabotta, Swift, Cole.