Matt Clarke and Marcus Harness struck in each half to help Derby boost their Sky Bet Championship survival hopes with a 2-0 victory over in-form Coventry on Frank Lampard’s return to Pride Park.
Lampard came back to Derby for the first time since he left the club in 2019 but the now Sky Blues boss suffered a setback with his new club in their quest for the play-offs with a first defeat in six.
John Eustace returned the winning feeling to Derby with a result over his former team Blackburn on the weekend and Clarke’s first-half header put them on course for consecutive wins for the first time since September.
Harness went from creator to finisher with his first goal since October as the Rams doubled their advantage at the start of the second half, which saw them move to within a point of safety.
Coventry came into the game off the back of nine wins from their last 10 and they were beginning to get a grip of proceedings early on – a piece of trickery from Milan van Ewijk to take two Rams defenders out of the game was a signal of just how confident the Sky Blues were feeling.
But, Derby had ambitions of their own to build on their weekend result and began to grow in confidence as the half went on, Liam Thompson’s crack from range sailed harmlessly over, though.
The relegation battlers stunned the visitors midway through the first half.
Derby were handed an opportunity to swing the ball in when Jake Bidwell brought down Ebou Adams. Harness sent a teasing ball across the six-yard box and Clarke was able to nod it past Oliver Dovin at the far post for the opener.
Coventry immediately had an opportunity to bite back from a set-piece of their own but Victor Torp’s whipped free-kick was easy for Jacob-Widell Zetterstrom to deal with.
Bidwell did not learn his lesson from his foul outside the box that led to Derby’s first, and he gave away a similar foul which put his side under the pump right at the start of the second period.
And Derby made them pay again as they doubled their advantage shortly after.
Derby recycled the ball and Jerry Yates was able to dig out a cross to Callum Elder. He saw his initial shot blocked into the path of Harness who was on hand to drill in his second of the season from close range.
Coventry looked to get back into the match, with Josh Eccles deciding to drill one from distance which few just the wrong side of a post.
The hosts naturally began to sit but Zetterstrom did not have much to do in the second half, although he had to be alert to keep out Ephron Mason-Clark in injury time.
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