Derby County 1-0 West Brom: Rams punish toothless Albion at Pride Park

A defensive mix-up between Sam Johnstone and Cedric Kipre allowed Colin Kazim-Richards to score the only goal of the game and hand West Brom their first defeat in six.

It was an all too familiar tale for Albion who bossed the majority of the statistics on the day - all apart from the one that matters most.

The game matched the weather in the opening stages - dull.

Adam Reach and Jake Livermore both had half chances as Baggies bossed possession without looking all too threatening in the final third.

Callum Robinson had the best chance of the first-half by some way. Livermore played the Irish forward through one-on-one but he fired a tame effort right into the hands of Ryan Allsop in the Rams goal.

Valerien Ismael’s side started the second period well - penning the Rams into their own half with multiple free-kicks.

And Kyle Bartley thought he had given the visitors a well deserved lead when he headed home from an Adam Reach cross but the linesman’s flag was raised for offside.

You sensed the Baggies would be punished for their missed chances and that they were. A calamitous mix-up between Johnstone and Kipre allowed the ball to fall kindly to substitute Kazim-Richards who slotted into an open net with his first touch and the Rams first shot on target.

Jordan Hugill was introduced to try and salvage something from the game and he nearly did - firing a decent effort just wide from the edge of the box.

Allsop denied Bartley what looked a certain equaliser in the final minute of additional time but that was all she wrote and one shot on target for the hosts was all that was ultimately needed to send Albion back to the Black Country pointless.

Derby County (3-5-2): Allsopp; Davies, Stearman, Forsyth; Byrne, Knight, Bird, Thompson, Ebosele (87’ Cashin); Baldock (57’ Morrison), Plange (57’ Kazim-Richards)

Unused subs: Marshall (GK), Williams, Sibley, Watson

West Brom (3-4-3): Johnstone; Clarke, Bartley, Kipre; Furlong (75’ Gardner-Hickman), Livermore, Molumby, Townsend; Reach, Robinson, Diangana

Unused subs: Button (GK), Ajayi, Ashworth, Tulloch

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