Derby County secured a vital 3-1 victory over Lincoln City to move them up to third in League One and one star stole the show in the second half.
Derby bounced back from their disappointing draw against Wycombe Wanderers last Saturday thanks to goals from Conor Hourihane, Kane Wilson and James Collins.
Paul Warne’s side weren’t at their best on the night but an inspired substitution at half-time to haul off Joe Ward for Wilson proved to be the difference in the match.
Ward, who lost possession a whopping 24 times in the first half, conceded a penalty for the second game running after bringing down Paudie O’Connor on the stroke of half-time.
Daniel Mandroiu converted the resulting spot kick and Ward was deservingly substituted following his first-half horror show.
‘Superb’ Kane Wilson runs riot v Lincoln
Although Hourihane initially put Derby into the lead with a venomous strike, it was Wilson who stole the show with his sensational second-half display.
Wilson was dropped for Tom Barkhuizen for this match, who earned his opportunity after scoring in consecutive matches.
The 23-year-old certainly used being axed by Warne as fuel to run riot against Lincoln.
He scored his first goal for the club on the hour mark as he got on the end of a Nathaniel Mendez-Laing cross to head home and was a constant menace down the right flank, supplying an inch-perfect assist to James Collins, who confidently dispatched his chance into the bottom left corner.
Aside from grabbing the headlines with a goal and assist, which was described as ‘superb’ by journalist Jake Barker, he also made 32 touches, won three of his five ground duels and completed two dribbles, as per Sofascore.
Wilson was captured on a free transfer from Bristol City in the summer and he’s turning out to be a bargain, especially after this latest performance.
Derby pile pressure on promotion rivals
Derby asked the authorities to move this fixture back two days to help with the hectic fixture schedule and that could prove to be a masterstroke.
While the Rams have secured a vital three points to send them into third, it’s now down to their promotion rivals to respond on Saturday, but that won’t be easy.
Warne’s side have piled the pressure on with this impressive win, leapfrogging the likes of Bolton Wanderers, Stevenage and Oxford United on goal difference.
Derby can rest up over the weekend and enjoy watching the action unfold knowing they’ve already done their job against Lincoln.