Max Bird’s stunning strike helped Derby come from behind to continue their fine run with a 3-2 win at Cheltenham.
The home side took a shock lead inside two minutes when Liam Sercombe won a 50-50 challenge and crossed for Caleb Taylor to notch in the first goal of his career on his 20th birthday.
It was the first goal Derby had conceded in 463 minutes, but they responded quickly.
Eiran Cashin found Nathaniel Mendez-Laing on the right and his cross was headed past Luke Southwood by Conor Hourihane in the eighth minute.
Paul Warne’s side added their second three minutes later, and it was a goal to remember.
Jason Knight’s shot on the edge of the box was blocked, but Bird followed up by firing an unstoppable effort into the top-left corner from more than 30 yards.
The lead was extended 10 minutes into the second half when a misplaced pass from Ryan Broom was seized upon by Tom Barkhuizen, who finished confidently.
Alfie May pulled one back for Cheltenham in the 77th minute, slamming in Taylor’s nod down from close range, but the Rams held on to make it four wins in a row in all competitions and 12 unbeaten in the league.
Match report supplied by PA Media.
Line-ups
Cheltenham
Formation 3-4-1-2
- 1Southwood
- 2Long
- 14Taylor
- 4BradburySubstituted forOlayinkaat 63′minutes
- 22Jackson
- 23bondsSubstituted forBrownat 82′minutes
- 8SercombeSubstituted forPerryat 44′minutes
- 15ferryBooked at 57minsSubstituted forWilliamsat 63′minutesBooked at 68mins
- 32Broom
- 9Goodwin
- 10May
Substitutes
- 3Williams
- 7Brown
- 20MacDonalds
- 26Barkers
- 28Perry
- 30Norton
- 36Olayinka
Derby
Formation 4-2-3-1
- 1Wildsmith
- 12Smith
- 3ForsythBooked at 19mins
- 6CashinSubstituted forDaviesat 63′minutes
- 17Sibley
- 4HourihaneSubstituted forMcGoldrickat 69′minutes
- 8bird
- 11Mendez-Laing
- 38Knight
- 7BarkhuizenSubstituted forDobbinat 69′minutes
- 9CollinsBooked at 84minsSubstituted forRooneyat 85′minutes
Substitutes
- 10McGoldrick
- 15roberts
- 16Thompson
- 18Dobbin
- 21Loach
- 33Davies
- 34Rooney
- Referees:
- Neil Hair
- Attendance:
- 5,666
Live Text
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Match ends, Cheltenham Town 2, Derby County 3.
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Second Half ends, Cheltenham Town 2, Derby County 3.
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Attempt saved. Alfie May (Cheltenham Town) left footed shot from the right side of the box is saved in the center of the goal. Assisted by Taylor Perry.
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Corner, Cheltenham Town. Granted by Louie Sibley.
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Hand ball by Max Bird (Derby County).
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Attempt missed. Alfie May (Cheltenham Town) right footed shot from a difficult angle and long range on the right misses to the right. Assisted by Will Goodwin with a headed pass.
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Attempt blocked. Taylor Perry (Cheltenham Town) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
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Substitution, Derby County. Jake Rooney replaces James Collins.
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Offside, Derby County. James Collins tries a through ball, but David McGoldrick is caught offside.
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Attempt saved. James Olayinka (Cheltenham Town) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the center of the goal. Assisted by Alfie May.
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James Collins (Derby County) is shown the yellow card.
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James Collins (Derby County) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Foul by James Olayinka (Cheltenham Town).
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Attempt blocked. James Olayinka (Cheltenham Town) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Alfie May with a cross.
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Corner, Cheltenham Town. Granted by Craig Forsyth.
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Substitution, Cheltenham Town. Charlie Brown replaces Elliott Bonds.
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Offside, Derby County. Jason Knight tries a through ball, but David McGoldrick is caught offside.
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Attempt missed. Curtis Davies (Derby County) header from the center of the box is too high. Assisted by David McGoldrick with a headed pass following a corner.
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Corner, Derby County. Granted by Sean Long.
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Attempt saved. David McGoldrick (Derby County) left footed shot from the right side of the box is saved in the center of the goal. Assisted by Nathaniel Mendez-Laing with a headed pass.