Paul Warne has hailed his Derby County coach after the team did one ‘difficult’ thing against Leyton Orient.
Derby County’s chances of winning automatic promotion are in their hands now after a convincing 3-0 win over Leyton Orient at the weekend.
Rams’ fans were left eagerly looking at their phones throughout the match as Bolton hosted Portsmouth in a huge six-pointer, but a 1-1 draw in Greater Manchester has given Derby a big advantage.
Leyton Orient were unbeaten in four of their last six games in League One and restricted Paul Warne‘s side to only three shots on target at Pride Park, while the visitors also had the most possession.
However, the Rams were able to do what they do best and that is score from set pieces. An own goal from a corner gifted the hosts the lead early on, before Sonny Bradley bagged a brace from another two corners.
How Derby County overcame Leyton Orient
Warne has now admitted that their ability on set pieces is exactly what they needed in such a ‘tight game’, while he also thanked first-team coach Matt Hamshaw.
Speaking on BBC’s Rams Daily podcast, Warne said: “”On days where it is difficult to score goals… so today I watched Leeds play and they couldn’t score, last night I watched Leicester and they couldn’t score.
“When you’re at the top of the table it’s difficult to get across the line. So the fact that we got three set pieces today means Hammy [Matt Hamshaw] is my employee of the week. In tight games you need set pieces and I thought the lads performed really well.”
Can the Rams’ set pieces take them to the Championship?
Derby County have now comfortably scored the most goals from set pieces in the third tier (23), significantly more than the likes of Bolton, Peterborough and Barnsley.
While the Rams have had their slip-ups this season, they have really been boosted by their presence in the box and would be a lot worse off if they weren’t able to take advantage of these situations.
Their ability from set pieces could well be what wins them automatic promotion and there is no doubt it would be useful in the Championship too, with Championship leaders Ipswich Town having scored the third-most in the second tier.
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