Derby County faced off with Sheffield United in a Championship fixture on Saturday afternoon.
The Rams were back in league action over the weekend, facing off with Sheffield United at Bramall Lane.
Derby County have an excellent home record but have struggled on the road so far this season.
Ahead of facing the Blades, Paul Warne’s men had secured maximum points from their three Championship fixtures at Pride Park.
This saw the Derbyshire outfit sat eighth in the table ahead of kick-off in Yorkshire.
However, Saturday’s meeting was expected to be a major test for the newly promoted side as Derby were yet to win away from home and Chris Wilder’s side were undefeated in their first five outings.
In the end, though Derby battled hard and Ben Osborn impressed against Sheffield United, they eventually succumbed to a 1-0 defeat thanks to a Gustavo Hamer goal in the 53rd minute.
- READ MORE: Derby County ace who Paul Warne loves is third-best player in EFL for one key stat since 23/24
Paul Warne will be worried for Derby County ace after Sheffield United
Overall, it was not a terrible performance and Derby fans are likely not too concerned about losing 1-0 away from home to an undefeated team.
However, the display of one Ram on September 21st will no doubt worry Warne to some extent.
Jerry Yates led the line for Derby once more against Sheffield United, making his fifth appearance since his loan move from Swansea City over the summer.
However, the striker seriously underperformed and Saturday and it felt like he was almost left out of the game.
Sofascore gave him a 6.9 rating, the lowest of Derby’s attackers. He also made just six passes across the 90 minutes and his 24 touches were less than that of goalkeeper, Jacob Widell Zetterstrom.
- READ MORE: ‘Brilliant’ £1m player will be gutted he didn’t join Derby County after playing just 32 minutes
Paul Warne will be desperate for Jerry Yates to improve
While being a striker is not all about scoring goals, it is a hugely important factor.
Yates has played fairly well in the early stages of this season so far, with his link-up play making up for the fact he is still yet to score a goal in a Derby shirt.
But after Saturday’s anonymous showing, it is clear Warne will want more out of his current number nine going forward.
Derby wanted to sign a striker last month but their deadline day push for another hitman fell through.
As a result, Yates is the Rams’ only out-and-out striker until at least the January transfer window when Warne will surely look to strengthen that position.
For the time being though, Yates has to start finding the net, especially in big games like Sheffield United when the onus is often placed on forwards to step up and provide a moment of magic.