Derby County vs Wolverhampton Wanderers match report: Clement praises ‘our best so far’ as Derby hit top six

Derby scored after three minutes with the move of the game

Bradley Johnson scored one goal for Derby (GETTY)

Impressive Derby County moved into the top six of the Championship with a fifth win in six matches as Paul Clement continues to make an impact in his first venture in management.

The 43-year-old Londoner, who was Carlo Ancelotti’s assistant at Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid, has lost only one of his 11 league fixtures and he was quick to acknowledge that yesterday’s performance was the best yet from his team. “We’ve had good first halves and good second halves but as a 90-minute performance that was the best so far,” Clement said. “It is the most satisfied I have been all season. We were solid from back to front, had some great individual performances and scored some good goals.

“Conceding twice was disappointing but they were good goals. Wolves are a good side with quality players.”

Derby scored after three minutes with the move of the game, striker Chris Martin firing a right-footed shot into the top left-hand corner from 20 yards after some brilliant interplay involving himself, Bradley Johnson and Jeff Hendrick on the edge of the Wolves box.

Wolves drew level when Benik Afobe finished a well-worked corner routine with a powerful 12-yard shot, but then Martin showed his bravery to outjump Kortney Hause and head home a Johnson cross, despite taking a clattering from Wolves goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, who would have been better advised to stay on his line.

Martin, who has seven goals to his name so far this season, saw his attempt to complete a first-half hat-trick foiled when Martinez saved his penalty but, from the corner that followed, Johnson scored with a slightly scuffed shot to leave Wolves with a 3-1 deficit.

Martin was involved again as Johnny Russell capped another slick move to add a fourth for Derby in the second half before the introduction of 18-year-old Liverpool loan player Sheyi Ojo led to a second Wolves goal, converted by Adam Le Fondre.

“We played some good football but our defending in the back third was poor,” the Wolves manager, Kenny Jackett, lamented as his side suffered a first defeat in four.