Derby County put the disappointment of drawing 1-1 with Shrewsbury Town firmly behind them with an emphatic 3-0 win over Exeter City last night, the Rams remaining second in League One as a result.
It was a professional performance from Paul Warne's men who managed to cruise to victory despite only having 30% of the ball compared to the possession-heavy Grecians, with Derby's class in-front of goal proving to be decisive in the end.
The likes of Nathaniel Mendez-Laing and James Collins shone as the usual suspects for Derby, alongside Max Bird who opened the scoring in the contest to set Derby on their way to a convincing three points.
Scoring three goals in his last four matches now for Warne's promotion-chasing Rams, Bird will continue being vital to the League One side in their continued pursuit of automatic promotion glory based off his display in Devon alone.
Max Bird's performance vs Exeter in numbers
Despite only amassing 26 touches of the ball at St James Park, Bird helped steer his away side to a routine three points in the end over a tricky Exeter side.
Bird would fire in the opening goal and tee up Mendez-Laing in Devon to score a fast-paced effort to make it 2-0, the 23-year-old Derby star making every touch count.
Moreover, Bird showcased grit when the hosts forayed forward on occasion away from just displaying his attacking prowess – winning two ground duels and completing two interceptions to keep the Grecians at bay.
Losing Bird at the end of the campaign is an obvious blow for Warne and Co, but if they keep getting performances like this out of their homegrown product between now and the end of the season, promotion will be sealed to end Bird's long-standing connection with the Rams on a high.
Away from the 6 foot midfielder putting in another terrific display from the centre of the park – which saw football journalist Leigh Curtis even describe Bird as 'sensational' – Callum Elder in the Derby back four also stood out as Warne's men picked up a clean sheet on top of a fantastic three points.
Callum Elder's performance vs Exeter in numbers
In and out of the starting XI owing to various different injury concerns, Elder would have been delighted to come away from the match versus Exeter with 90 minutes under his belt.
It was an excellent defensive display from the Australian left-back to back up his manager's insistence to start him, with the ex-Hull City man winning seven of his eight duels on the night.
The 29-year-old also launched himself into his fair share of tackles alongside Bird, completing four tackles to play his part in thwarting the Grecians in attack.
Minutes played
90
Tackles
4
Duels won
7/8
Possession lost
12x
Accurate passes
15/23 (65%)
Shots on target
1
Stats by Sofascore
Despite giving up possession a total of 12 times, Elder would be thankful for Exeter's wasteful evening in front of goal and even more appreciative of his team for finishing off their chances coolly in contrast to not expose his wayward passing.
Given a 7.5/10 rating by Curtis post-match – who praised Elder further for registering an on-target effort at Viljami Sinisalo's goal alongside defending competently – the Derby number 20 will keep his fingers crossed that he remains in Warne's XI for the test of Stevenage at the weekend.
Warne will be overjoyed at his Derby side's professionalism in the away win at Exeter, hoping that the Rams can continue to brush teams aside on their way to winning automatic promotion come the end of April.
