Derby County got some much-needed points on the board against Middlesbrough.
The Rams hosted Boro at Pride Park for a 12:30pm kick-off on Saturday, August 17th.
Paul Warne had an unwelcome debut match in the Championship with his current side, seeing Derby County lose 4-2 versus Blackburn Rovers.
The Derbyshire outfit were expected to be among the relegation candidates this term and after being trashed by a Rovers side who ended 2023/24 19th, things were not looking good for Warne and co.
Derby beat Chesterfield 2-1 in the League Cup in midweek to give them a much-needed confidence boost, but a win over Boro still seemed a step to far.
However, a lack of concentration from Isaiah Jones in the 14th minute gifted the home side the lead at Pride Park.
Boro dominated the rest of the match but, as they often did against lower-table sides last term, struggled to break down a deep backline.
When all was said and done, Derby beat Middlesbrough 1-0 to secure their first win of the Championship season.
Paul Warne must thank one Derby County player for Middlesbrough win
Despite coming out on top, Derby were by no means the better side and were lucky to win.
Ben Osborne impressed for Derby vs Middlesbrough in the centre of the pitch and Kayden Jackson, of course, scored the only goal of the game.
However, it was another Rams star who journalist George Smith believes Warne has to thank for the three points.
Speaking on The Championship Chat podcast, Smith claimed Josh Vickers was the main reason Derby secured a victory.
He said: “Look on the balance of play, in the balance of chances, they’re very fortunate to win the game.
“But they also defended in a low block very resolutely and took advantage of an absolute gift with Kayden Jackson latching onto a loose back pass from Isaiah Jones, rounding the goalkeeper to make it 1-0.
“They had to thank their goalkeeper Josh Vickers for keeping them in it.
“Burgzorg, Jones going close, but ultimately for Derby if they were going to win the game, going to pick up the points it was going be a Pride Park it was going to be low-margin games, it was going to be matches where they dug in, got clean sheets, nicked a goal on the break, exactly what they did in this one.”
Will Josh Vickers start for Derby County against Watford
Without Vickers, Derby probably would have lost that game or, at the very least, drawn with Boro.
The 28-year-old was under constant pressure from Michael Carrick’s side who ended the game with 70 percent possession and 20 goal attempts.
Vickers, though, kept his composure, providing a calming presence at the heart of Derby’s defence.
After such a stellar showing, it seems obvious that despite only taking up the number-one role recently, Vickers will continue to start for Derby.
However, Jacob Widell Zetterstrom finally joined the club last week and he is now competing with Vickers for a starting berth.
Zetterstrom will likely become the first-choice goalkeeper at Pride Park this season but it would be pretty unfair if Warne drops Vickers right after his match-winning display against Boro.
Derby are next in action on August 24th versus Watford and it will be interesting to see who starts between the sticks for them.