Derby rams through Portsmouth for much-needed win
Derby County ended a six-game winless streak with an emphatic 4-0 victory over Portsmouth in the Championship.
Three goals in the opening 30 minutes put the game beyond Pompey, before Marlon Pack's own goal assured the Rams of three points that moved them away from the relegation zone.
The hosts took just eight minutes to break the deadlock, splitting Portsmouth open with two impressive throughballs before Nathaniel Mendez-Laing squared it into the box to set up Kane Wilson's close-range finish.
Eiran Cashin rose high to thump a powerful header in for Derby's second, with Ebou Adams adding to the tally just before the half-hour mark with the help of a deflection off Tom McIntyre after another slick move.
Jerry Yates forced a good save out of Nicolas Schmid before the break, but Derby took its foot off the gas in the second half before Marcus Harness, formerly of Portsmouth, saw his low cross turned in by Pack in the 65th minute.
The Rams could have made it five late on.
Abdoulaye Kamara's blind backpass was almost pounced on by Kayden Jackson, who had wrongfooted the goalkeeper, but Schmid scrambled back to his line to spare the defender's blushes.
Derby had not won a match in the Championship since early November, but did not look back after a stellar first half here.
The Rams scored with their first three shots on target, having seven overall from their 17 efforts as they created 1.14 expected goals (xG).
Portsmouth, meanwhile, remains just above the drop zone, only above Cardiff City having scored more goals.
It failed to test Jacob Widell Zetterstrom once, despite having one big chance.
