Another side from Yorkshire were sent back up the M1 with tails; or rather feathers between their legs, as The Super Rams condemned the struggling Owls deeper into the mire.

Yes, you can only beat what’s in front of you, however I’d like to wager that even my local under 9’s team would have been better than Dave Jones’ brigade. If this was a boxing match, it would have been stopped somewhere just after the hour mark out of mercy.

Gladly, it wasn’t, as another efficient display saw us climb to two points outside of the play-off places.

With the news of Kalifa Cisse’s inclusion surprising although not altogether unexpected (I’d like to play Poker with the gaffer), I did worry about the cohesion of our midfield and was expecting a real test from a side who had knocked five past Reading last weekend.

I needn’t have worried.

Showing one change to his hand from last week’s loss to QPR, McClaren handed the Mali international his debut in place of the suspended Eustace.

Pre-kick off, the mood was somewhat soured with moronic Wednesday supporters singing through the minutes silence for Remembrance Day. Yes, the noise was from the concourse below but nevertheless, it left an immediate bad taste.

In a strange way though, this seemed to galvanise our supporters to create a little more atmosphere, which was once again flat due to the stupidity of giving four thousand away fans the chance to pack out the South Stand. Not that the travelling hoards had anything to cheer.

The opening ten minutes served little to suggest a one-sided contest. We had all of the possession but Wednesday looked the strong, tall, physical side that we come to expect from a Dave Jones unit.

This had all the hallmarks of a side coming to Pride Park for a point, which was surprising given their result last weekend.

Our first chance of note saw Dawkins burst into the area and firing wide, before Grant did well to smother with Leicester reject Fryatt closing in. Bryson’s free-kick from thirty yards then hit the wall and dropped agonisingly wide of Kirkland’s post. Then someone flicked the switch.

First, a fine tackle from Hughes, who was giving as good as he was getting in the midfield, allowed Wisdom and Bryson to combine and find Dawkins, who drove past two players, before a last-ditch block saw his effort loop onto the top of the netting.

Soon after, quicker passing saw Forsyth deliver a sumptuous low ball to Ward, who found that Kirkland was in top form and he pushed it wide, although the referee must have forgotten his contact lenses as a goal-kick resulted. Wednesday’s physical approach wasn’t working as the Rams, led by Cisse in the middle of the park, started to find top gear. Dawkins again went close with a drive across the area before then shooting over from the edge of the box.

The tempo which had been so evidently lacking against Birmingham had returned as we became dominant. Led by Keogh and Buxton who were marshalling the ‘feared’ opposition ‘strike force’ with aplomb, our neat football had the Owls rocking on their perches.

Whenever they did get somewhere near us, their talons were sunk too aggressively into Messrs Hughes and Bryson, resulting in two quick fire bookings.

Jamie Ward, relishing the banter from the away support, was producing quality from both the right and left sides, with his free kick headed over by Forsyth with the goal at his mercy.

It looked as if it was going to be a frustrating first half, before the football genius in our ranks came to the fore. From Ward’s umpteenth corner, Bucko rose highest and thumped the ball in off the crossbar for a deserved opener right on forty-five minutes.

I don’t know which was more satisfying, taking the lead or actually scoring as opposed to conceding from a set-piece!?

Half-time and I predicted that, ‘they can’t be as bad as that in the second half.’

I also praised the referee, which again treated like a fart in a lift, was seen as the official cue for a dodgy penalty against us to be awarded. Thankfully, what transpired was that Wednesday was probably worse and thankfully, no penalties were conceded during the making of this report.

What we all agreed on was we needed a second goal to avoid a ‘Birmingham’ moment. We didn’t have to wait long.

More fantastic pressure from the midfield saw Wednesday give possession away for only the 25,787th time in the afternoon and saw us produce another lightening break, the likes of which have bore fruit at Watford amongst other times already this campaign.

Bryson fed Martin, who waited for the onrushing Forsyth to arrive, before Brucie’s cross was right on the money for Hughes to slide the ball in at the far stick. Another great team goal for the collection and like Katie Price’s husbands, another soon followed.

This time, the prize asset of the club strode forward and after pick-pocketing Helan, released Ward who fired another low cross in for Martin to be the beneficiary of a tap-in.

3-0 and even with half an hour to go, very much game over and very much a case of how many it was going to be.

Maybe the only negative of the day was that the scoring ended there. Still, it wasn’t for the want of trying or chances.

Ward, desperately trying to score against his old foes, should have made it four after being released by Bryson but again was thwarted by some part of Kirkland’s upper anatomy.

At the other end, Grant was encouragingly more commanding when faced with a rare corner or long throw- in. At one point, he even had to leave his deck chair to come and collect a cross.

Antonio, who had given Brayford the only headache I can remember from last season, was being superbly marshalled by Wisdom, who’s upper-body strength saw him nonchalantly clear the danger when the former was well-placed in the area.

The only alarm came when Johnson skipped past Forsyth and delivered an inviting centre to Fryatt. I can only imagine that he’d been watching a spot of egg-chasing before the game as his finish, which ended up somewhere in the Gordon Guthrie stand, was worthy of finding a home at Twickenham.

The best chance for a fourth saw us get in behind the hapless Owls full-back once again, with Wisdom the provider for Dawkins, who rolled his shot into the side-netting. That was to be his last act, with Mason Bennett his replacement.

My fears that Cisse would not last the full 90 were unfounded and his brilliant sliding challenge on Johnson after running twenty yards in the 80th minute, capped a brilliant and unexpected debut, with warm applause ringing around for the Mali internationals efforts.

One final chance fell the way of Bryson, with his scuffed left-footed shot snuffed out but by then, the fat lady had sung, had lunch and fallen to sleep.

The disappointment of a lot of home fans leaving, rather than waiting to acclaim a fabulous victory, never fails to amaze me. Nevertheless, full-time brought those remaining to their feet and man-hugs all round for Buxton, Keogh and Grant, with the relief of a clean-sheet evident for all to see.

To my right, the visiting supporters chose, unsurprisingly to greet their players with boo’s, swearing and a lot of certain hand-gestures which cannot be described in a family-friendly report such as this. They truly wouldn’t have scored if they would have played until (Sheffield) Wednesday.

Describing them as poor would be an understatement of massive proportions, but we still had a job to do and did it convincingly, with plenty of positives to boot.

Hughes was back to his flowing best, and showed once again that he isn’t afraid to mix it when the game needs.

The back four, with Buxton in particular, looked as solid as they have all season. Perhaps the most satisfying thing is that we didn’t concede from a set-piece!

Cisse was a gamble that paid off and Dawkins looks more of a threat with each fitness-boosting game.

Positive vibes then to take into another sodding international break.

At least we haven’t got any stress with the Three-Lions - that can wait until we go Cherry-picking next time out.

Weston’s Player Ratings:

Lee Grant: Didn’t have much to do but when called upon, looked a lot better and more commanding than in recent weeks - 6

Craig Forsyth: Possibly his best display in a Rams shirt. Defended very well against the pace of Wednesday’s wingers and provided good quality going forwards, including assist for second goal - 7

Andre Wisdom: Very impressive once again. Powerful, solid and caused problems going forward. 7

Jake Buxton: Excellent game. Never missed a header, scored a good goal at a crucial time and distribution improved vastly. Rumours that Wickham is still in his pocket remain unconfirmed. Weston’s star man - 9

Richard Keogh: Top display from the skipper, another one who didn’t miss a header in the whole game. More driving runs forwards which gave us an extra man - 7

Craig Bryson: Far too much guile and energy for the lacklustre Owls midfield - 7

Kalifa Cisse: Excellent debut. Strong in the tackle, kept passing short but effective. Can’t believe he lasted the full 90. How many more games will he get though? Could be a great quiz question in the making in 20 years time! - 7

Will Hughes:Back on top form. At the heart of everything good that we did. Mixed it, won his fair share of tackles and was his normal creative self - 8

Jamie Ward: Some good deliveries from both flanks. Showed good quality but got a bit greedy and petulant as the game wore on in desperation to score! - 7

Simon Dawkins:- Looked a genuine threat in the first-half, tired in second. Will keep getting better with more match-time - 7

Chris Martin:- A timely goal for our target-man, but could have put more effort in at times. Sometimes he can be like a stubborn child & needs to stop moaning to the Ref - 6

Subs:

Mason Bennett: - Barely had a touch on the ground - 6

Connor Sammon: Don’t think he touched it - 4

Ben Davies: Back from injury - touched it once. Pass completion 100% - 6

Reaction:

We Said — Steve McClaren:

“The performance was excellent today and we’re delighted with the players. We played some excellent football, scored three good goals in their own right and kept a clean sheet too.”

“It’s one of those perfect days: a win, a clean sheet and three goals.”

They Said — Dave Jones:

"Unfortunately, far too many of our players lost their personal battles. Too many seemed to think that after putting five Past Reading a week ago we only had to turn up for it to happen again. I am as angry as I have been in a long time. Derby didn't have to earn it, we gave it to them."

“There was a complete absence of communication for their second and third goals. Derby were allowed to walk the ball into our net."

Match Stats

Possession: Derby 56 — 44 Wednesday

Shots (On Target): Derby 23 (5) — 10 (1) Wednesday

Corners: Derby 10 — 5 Wednesday

Fouls: Derby 17 — 11 Wednesday

Yellow Cards: Derby 1 — 4 Wednesday

Ref/Attendance/Teams:

Ref: David Webb

Crowd: 26,421 (3,715 Weeping Wednesdays).

Teams:

The Rams: Grant (GK); Wisdom, Keogh, Buxton, Forsyth, Cisse, Hughes, Bryson, Dawkins (Bennett 78’), Ward, Martin (Sammon 87’).

Unused Subs: Morch (GK), Freeman, Jacobs, Davies, Smith.

Wednesday: Kirkland (GK), Buxton, Reda Johnson, Roger Johnson, Zayette, McPhail (Coke 53’), Olofinjana (Palmer 77’), Fryatt, Wickham, Antonio, Helan (Jermaine Johnson 53').

Unused Subs: Martinez (GK), Mattock, Llera, Nihui.

Match Video — Highlights & Interviews:

Next Up For The Rams:

AFC Bournemouth vs. Derby County

3pm — 23rd of November 2013-11-10

Photo: Action Images

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