The Rams have suffered some embarrassing defeats in Cup competitions over recent history but Clough’s new improved Rams - with an all new formula that combines passing and razor sharp attack - continued where they left of at Yeovil by playing another team off the park and registered their first win at Pride Park for 13/14.

No matter how well the team performed on Saturday, Derby fans know better than to get carried away as no sooner than they do — they are usually carried straight back in.

This time round it was a performance — that despite being against a lower league, under strength opposition — was impressive in the fact that it was swift and clinical which is a measure of the maturity that the team are displaying in comparison to previous seasons.

When a manager like Nigel Clough - who could never be accused of letting the cart get in front of the horse - proclaims; "it doesn't get much better than that", you know it is a positive result we are all allowed to enjoy!

There was a sprinkling of changes to the Rams starting line up who brought home three points on the weekend as Sammon, Eustace, Coutts and Smith came off the bench. Some may have expected this to water down expectations but instead it displayed the depth Clough has at his disposal as the team had bolted into the distance by half time.

Sammon looked switched on from the first whistle as he pushes for a regular starting spot and nearly had the dream start on 2 minutes when he shot from the edge of the box only to have the resulting shot blocked.

Brentford had probably their best chance of the half early when Jake Reeves rocketed a 20 yard shot over the bar.

The Rams controlled the match and it seemed a formality that they would eventually put the ball in the back of the net and that they did when Craig Bryson curled in a cross which Chris Martin made good ground to meet and head in on 19 minutes.

Paul Coutts and John Eustace were strutting their stuff in midfield as they crafted a good move that was not rewarded with deserved glory when the resulting Bryson shot hit the outside of the post from distance.

The Bee’s were trying to get things going against a tide of Derby passing and possession but in their attempts to get forward were being exposed.

Poor Conor Sammon must have been thinking luck was once again going to pass him by as Hughes expertly set up Sammon whose goal bound shot was only denied by a fabulous clearance off the line by Kevin O'Connor.

It was starting to seem like a training video for passing as Derby continued their first time passing game that drew Bees only to send them buzzing off again. Hughes, Martin and Bryson put together a great combination of just this when they unlocked the door for Sammon to break his duck and expertly place low shot below keeper Jack Bonham on 36 minutes.

Not two minutes later - on loan Spurs defender Adam Smith — pushed forward and crossed for Will Hughes who perfectly placed his shot into the bottom left corner.

HT: 3 - 0

The Rams had been 3 up in the cup not so long ago — only to end up defeated and despite the score line Brentford were determined to give it their everything as they came out breathing fire in the second half. Reeves tried to kick start the Bee’s but could only manage to volley over from 12 yards when he probably should have at worst hit the target.

The Rams absorbed Brentford’s best efforts and wrestled back dominance in the game as the continued to create opportunities. It took until the 70th minute to put one away but Sammon would have been ecstatic that it was him on the end of a rebound resulting from Bryson’s strike. Super Fish with a brace for the Super Rams!

Martin finished off what was an emphatic victory when he dodged a challenger and clinically finished off his good work to beat Bonham and nestle the ball in the corner of the net.

Adam Smith came close to capping what was a solid first performance for the Rams with a goal - when his shot drifted just wide in stoppage time.

The sounds of Hawaii five-0 echoed around Pride Park as the Rams crushed a curse that had been a burden on the club for too long. These new look Rams paid no credence to such things — instead Clough and his men seem far more intent on writing a new chapter to the long rebuild the club has undertaken.

May this not be the best there is but a sign of what is to come!

FT: 5 - 0 (Martin 19′, 77′, Sammon 36′, 71′, Hughes 38′)

Clough’s Reaction:

“It was a very professional job out there and the players did exactly what they needed to do. It shows how far we’ve come that a year ago we were 3-0 up against a League 1 side in the same competition and we ended up losing the game, whereas 12 months later that wasn’t going to happen.”

“This was a tricky tie and we weren’t too sure what Brentford were going to do with their line-up. They opted to go with quite a young side in the end with their League 1 campaign the biggest priority, but it was still a tough game for us.”

“We want to go as far as we can in the Capital One Cup and we proved that by naming a strong side and we were delighted with what the lads out there did. We managed to carry on where we left off at Yeovil on Saturday in spells.”

“By the halfway mark of the first half we got into our stride and that spell before the break saw us put one foot in the Third Round. The quality of our goals was again a standout feature; we’re scoring some brilliant team goals this season and passing the ball around very well indeed. What we’re doing now is rounding the moves off with goals, which hasn’t always been the case in the past.”

“We’re scoring goals and keeping clean sheets — so it doesn’t get much better than that.”

Match Stats:

Crowd: 9,076 (720 Stung Bees)

Possession: Derby 51 — Brentford 49

Shots (on target): Derby 24 (8) — Brentford 11 (2)

Corners: Derby 7 — Brentford 4

Fouls: Derby 9 — Brentford 6

Teams:

Derby : Grant, Smith, Keogh, Buxton, Forsyth, Coutts, Eustace, Hughes (Jacobs 75’), Bryson (Davies 73), Martin (Bennett 78’), Sammon. Unused Subs: Legzdins (GK), Ward, Freeman, Russell.

Brentford: Bonham (GK), O'Connor, Barron, (Pierre 46’) Saunders (Mawson 73’), El Alagui, (Hacker 61’) Dallas, Venta, Diagouraga, Reeves, Nugent, Clarke. Unused Subs: O'Brien (GK), Saville, Adams, Miller-Rodney.

Next Up For The Rams:

Derby vs. Burnley

Pride Park

3pm Saturday August 31st

Photo: Action Images

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