David Ozoh's first goal of the season turned a tense night at Pride Park Derby County's way, the on-loan Crystal Palace midfielder striking early in the second half to seal a 1-0 victory over Norwich City. The Rams' first home win of the campaign, and their first in nine attempts on their own pitch, eased the pressure on John Eustace and hauled his side away from immediate trouble.
For Norwich, however, defeat extended a worrying winless league run to seven matches and dropped Liam Manning's team into the Championship's bottom three. After dominating the first half and carving out a stream of chances, the Canaries were made to pay for their profligacy as Derby, still smarting from a dreadful defeat at Oxford on Saturday, found the response their manager had demanded.
Norwich dictate early tempo but fail to make it count
Both sides came into the game without a win in five, but it was Norwich who started like a side determined to end that sequence. In the third minute Kenny McLean slipped Oscar Schwartau in for a close-range effort that Jacob Widell Zetterstrom did well to block, before the Derby goalkeeper sprang up to repel McLean's follow-up at his near post. Another swift attack down the visitors' right soon ended with Schwartau drilling into the side netting as the Canaries moved the ball with confidence and pinned Derby back.