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"Two swallows duth not a summer make" is the saying, but have Derby County now turned the corner regarding their form? On this display we would say "yes.!"
Middlesbrough were at times very much in this game and went one-nil up in the 20th minute with a deft header from Kris Boyd, which beat Stephen Bywater on his right hand post.
Derby were luck not to go further behind as Gordon Strachan's men piled on the pressure. The Rams however showed that they now don't fold under pressure and continued to cause problems for Middlesbrough. A penalty just a minute after Boro's goal should have seen the teams level after Shefki Kuqi was brought down in the penalty area. Kris Commons stepped up to take the penalty but a weak shot saw Steele save.
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The 710 travelling Boro fans were further subdued after six minutes of the second half starting when Kris Commons produced yet another moment of pure magic to loop a shot up and over Steele and into the corner of the Boro goal.
Commons has been a major part of the excellent form of the team in recent weeks and he rounded off another great show with the Rams third and his second goal of the game, making up for the earlier penalty miss.
A crowd of 24,739 again went home happy as the Rams move up to 15th in the Championship league table. Derby now go on the road this weekend, as they travel to Swansea. The Swans have a 100% record at home this season with four wins out of four, scoring nine goals and only conceding one. It will be a tough test for the new improved Rams but should be a very exciting game...