Derby County 1-0 Bolton Wanderers - Full time match report

So defensively solid at Charlton Athletic on Tuesday night, and with the game in their hands at 1-0 following Ruben Rodrigues’s first-half strike, Steven Schumacher’s side looked on course for their first league win in Derby since 1981.

The embattled Rams had won just one game all season and left the field at the interval to jeers from their own supporters – yet four minutes into the second half they held a 2-1 lead and were playing like a team reborn.

Ryan Nyambe and Jack Robinson’s quickfire strikes turned the night completely on its head and made the previously dominant Whites look as wobbly as they have all season.

Rhian Brewster sealed the points by capitalising on a mistake from Gaizka Larrazabal in stoppage time but, in truth, Bolton had not looked particularly convincing in their efforts to get back on level terms.

Wanderers made three changes from the side that had won at Charlton, Schumacher swapping out three of his front four.

Valley goalscorer Sam Dalby kept his place up front, but behind him Rodrigues, Larrazabal and Thierry Gale replaced Sam Iling-Junior, Atsuki Ito and Max Lott.

A back four that had protected a clean sheet so well in midweek was also trusted again and had to contend with some ultra-direct football in the first half as the struggling Rams attempted to change their luck mainly with the potent weapon of Jack Robinson’s long throw.

Carlton Morris had one header early on, dead centre of goal which constituted Derby’s best opportunity in the first half. Otherwise, the home side kept busy but lacked any serious incision in the final third.

Wanderers, meanwhile, selected their moments to attack carefully. Though Gale had a difficult time keeping his balance at times on the left, wasting a couple of semi-presentable chances, Larrazabal was dominant on the right, linking seamlessly with Sam Dalby and Luca Stephenson.

The right-back turned right-winger has been called up by the Basque national team to face Venezuela next week and there was an air of international class every time he got the ball early on.

Simons should have opened the scoring 12 minutes in, firing over the top from Larrazabal’s low cross 12 yards out.

The former Athletic Bilbao man then launched a move from his own penalty box, chasing to win the ball back from Mo Fuseini and launching a flowing move which passed through Dalby and Rodrigues before Gale had a shot deflected over the bar.

Chris Forino went close with a header before Stephenson forced Jacob Zetterstom into a good save down to his right after a clever corner routine.

As half time approached, Wanderers finally got some reward for their more enterprising football. Again it was Larrazabal on the right, combining well with Dalby, and after putting in an identical cross to the one he had supplied for Simons, Rodrigues was able to supply a killer touch.

Boos at half time, and exactly the situation that Wanderers would have wanted as they went back to the dressing room. And yet within four minutes of the restart, the whole night had been turned on its head.

Morris’s cross from the left wing was flicked on by Fuseini, leaving Ryan Nyambe the simple task of sliding the ball home at the far post – the first goal of his football career.

It was almost with an air of shock around Pride Park that the home fans celebrated another goal just a few minutes later.

Bobby Clark played a free kick into the box, Morris got a flick and Shane Duffy was able to hold off defenders to enable Robinson a clear route to head home his side’s second.

But for a strong hand from Jack Bonham, things could have got even worse moments later. Bolton were caught on the counter and Fuseini could have put the game beyond doubt.

Bolton had plenty of time left to regain their mojo. Rodrigues went mighty close to an equaliser with a curling shot from the edge of the box.

Zetterstrom then pulled off a marvellous save at close range from Dalby who needed only a decent connection on Gale’s cross to put the ball into the net.

Schumacher sent on Kyliane Dong, Ito and Iling-Junior for the closing 20 minutes in an effort to inject some fresh impetus, to little avail.

Derby managed to pounce on Larrazabal’s loose touch at the bitter end, switching the ball for Brewster to lash past Bonham to send the Rams fans home happy.

For Wanderers, it was unquestionably an opportunity missed. They remain seven points clear of the relegation zone with Saturday’s games still to play and in a position they would surely have taken, if offered, at the start of the season.

But with Derby in such a vulnerable position at the start of play, they won’t have many better chances.