DERBY CLOSE GAP ON SAFETY

Derby County have moved within four points of safety in the English Championship after the impressive 3-1 win over Hull City. Manager Wayne Rooney and his players welcomed newly promoted team Hull City to their home with the knowledge that a win would boost their chances of survival and they were able to get the victory.

The Rams were not really in danger of losing points against Hull City from the moment Craig Forsyth gave them lead in the 19th minute. The advantage was then doubled by leading goalscorer Tom Lawrence to ensure that the goals from him and Forsyth gave the Rams a 2-0 lead at the end of the first 45 minutes.

Derby County made sureof the three points at the start of the second half when Frank Ebosele scored the third goal with two minutes on the clock. A Craig Forsyth own goal would later reduce the Derby County advantage by one as the game ended with four goals.

With the home victory over Hull City, Wayne Rooney was able to stop a three-match winless run which yielded just a solitary point from the maximum nine points. Wayne Rooney and his players began the lean run on the back of their best spell of the season. They had a run of four wins and one draw from five games before the aforementioned winless run. The run began with the 2-1 loss at the home of Nottingham Forest before the 2-2 home draw with Birmingham City. The 2-0 loss at Huddersfield Town took the winless run to three matches.

Wayne Rooney and his players have given themselves a good chance of escaping relegation from the English Championship with their form over the last two months which reads: five wins, two draws and two losses. They are four points adrift of Reading who are in the final safe place in the Championship.