Derby County continued their preparations for the 2023/24 season by defeating Stoke City 3-0 at Pride Park Stadium on Saturday afternoon as the 2 sides went head-to-head in a pre-season pleasant to rejoice defender Craig Forsyth’s ten years with the Rams.
Centre-back Curtis Nelson’s deflected header had Derby forward halfway via the primary half at a rain-soaked Pride Park and striker James Collins’ third objective in 4 pre-season outings doubled their lead a couple of minutes later.
Forward Nathaniel Mendez-Laing added a 3rd because the Rams made their mark going ahead in a superb first half displaying in opposition to the Sky Bet Championship outfit.
The second half offered much less motion in entrance of objective nevertheless it nonetheless proved to be a superb exercise for Head Coach Paul Warne’s aspect with simply two weeks to go till the beginning of the Sky Bet League One marketing campaign.
Long-serving defender Forsyth, who joined Derby in the summertime of 2013 from Watford on a everlasting foundation after a short mortgage spell, was granted a Testimonial by the membership after signing a brand new deal again in May and a crowd of over 9,000 supporters turned out to thank the Scotsman for his dedication and dedication.
Forsyth wore the captain’s armband for the event whereas midfield Korey Smith was again after harm, which had compelled him to overlook the aspect’s earlier two friendlies, and defender Kane Wilson was on the bench after sitting out the midweek pleasant at Chesterfield.
As the sport was a celebration of Forsyth’s decade with the Rams, 4 of his former group-mates within the type of Craig Bryson, David Nugent, Martyn Waghorn and Bradley Johnson have been named as substitutes and so they featured off the bench within the second half.
Stoke named a robust line-up forward of what’s set to be Alex Neil’s first full season in control of the Potters after becoming a member of from Stoke City early final time period, and he named summer season signings Enda Stevens and Ben Pearson of their beginning line-up in addition to Michael Rose and Daniel Johnson on the bench.
Key Moments
Forsyth was welcomed onto the pitch with a guard of honour from the gamers and employees of each side and, as soon as the competition bought underway, Derby that started by attacking in the direction of the North Stand within the opening 45 minutes.
The first probability of the sport got here Stoke’s manner after 9 minutes, however Joe Wildsmith within the Derby objective made a snug save from Tyrese Campbell’s header from a deep cross to the far publish.
It was, nevertheless, the Rams that opened the scoring after 19 minutes with their first probability of the afternoon. Wing-back Joe Ward’s nook into the field from the left was met by the top of Nelson and, by way of a deflection off Stoke skipper Josh Laurent, the ball discovered its manner into the again of the web.
Midfield pair Max Bird and Smith each had efforts from the sting of the field which didn’t significantly check Jack Bonham within the Stoke objective shortly after taking the lead and it was clear to see that the aspect’s confidence had cranked up a notch.
With that in thoughts, it was little shock that Derby’s lead was elevated after 26 minutes. Another cross into the field, this time by Smith from the fitting after good work by Ward, completely discovered Collins 12 yards out to direct a high-quality header low into the web past Bonham.
The Rams continued to supply an actual leading edge to their play on the assault and a 3rd objective adopted earlier than the break from Mendez-Laing. The Guatemala worldwide performed a neat one-two with Bird contained in the field and after receiving the ball again from Derby’s quantity eight he made no mistake with a curling end into the far nook with what was the final key piece of motion within the half.
Wilson changed Smith on the break which meant the versatile Liam Thompson slotted into midfield and the summer season signing from Bristol City occupied the left wing-again place in his first run-out on dwelling turf since arriving from the Robins earlier this month.
Johnson, a half-time substitute for Stoke following his latest signing from Preston North End, drilled a low shot at objective within the first alternative of the second interval however Wildsmith was equal to the shot with a great cease and Laurent went on to blaze a great probability on the hour from contained in the field.
Both sides made a number of modifications over the course of the second half which impacted the stream to proceedings however as Stoke pushed ahead, clearly with the phrases of their teaching employees ringing of their ears, Warne’s aspect stood sturdy as a defensive unit to restrict their alternatives on objective.
Bryson, Nugent, Waghorn and Johnson have been all welcomed onto the pitch to a heat reception from the house trustworthy to supply a visit down reminiscence lane and thank them for the half they performed throughout their respective spells with the Rams.
The manner Derby carried out over the 90 minutes in opposition to a aspect that will probably be competing within the league above them this time period supplied loads of encouragement on a delightful afternoon, whereas it was additionally a becoming option to rejoice Forsyth’s time with the membership.
The Teams
Derby County: Wildsmith (GK), Forsyth (C) (Radcliffe 85), Hourihane (Johnson 77), Bradley (Cashin 72), Bird (Bryson 77), Collins (Nugent 77), Mendez-Laing (Waghorn 65), Smith (Wilson 46), L Thompson (Robinson 77), Ward (Bardell 77), Nelson (Rooney 72).
Substitutes Not Used: Loach (GK), Vickers (GK), Brown.
Stoke City: Bonham (GK) (Nna Noukeu 72), Edwards, Stevens, Wilmot, Taylor (Rose 65), Pearson (Johnson 46, Sidibe 83), Tymon, Laurent, Brown, J Thompson, Campbell.
Substitutes Not Used: Baker, Macari, Griffiths, Wright-Phillips, Lowe, Brooks (GK).
Attendance
9,119 (1,349 Stoke City supporters)
What’s Next?
Derby’s ultimate pre-season fixture forward of the beginning of the 2023/24 Sky Bet League One season will see them host Premier League newcomers Sheffield United at Pride Park Stadium subsequent Saturday (29th July, 3pm kick-off).
