Leigh Curtis's Derby County player ratings v Sunderland as trio struggle amid 'careless' mistake

Latest Derby County news from Derbyshire Live brings you how the players fared at the Stadium of Light tonight

A rocket from Jobe Bellingham and a strike from Wilson Isidor left Derby County still searching for their first away points in the Championship this season as Sunderland coasted to a 2-0 win at the Stadium of Light.

Derby started well enough with Marcus Harness breaching Sunderland's lines after some great approach play by Kane Wilson.

The on-loan Ipswich midfielder swept a shot towards goal which was blocked and that led to appeals for a handball that fell on deaf ears. Derby had done well to frustrate Sunderland in the first quarter and you sensed anxiety growing in the stands. But gradually Regis Le Bris' side started to pose a threat helped by Derby turning the ball over in their attempts to attack themselves.

Wilson Isidor fired wide of the post before Romaine Mundle saw a shot gathered by Jacob Widell Zetterstrom. Bellingham then wasted another chance when he headed wide when he should have hit the target.

But the brother of Real Madrid superstar Jude made no mistake before half-time when after Chirewa gave the ball away, he unleashed a terrific 20-yard rocket that flew past Zetterstrom.

Sunderland then made it 2-0 in the second half as they effectively killed off Derby's challenge with Wilson Isidor bundling over the line from Mundle's cross. Derby tried to summon a response and they should have done better when Kane Wilson had a glorious chance to play Kayden Jackson in on goal. But he overcooked the pass and Sunderland were able to relax. A set-piece then brought a chance when Curtis Nelson saw an effort cleared off the line while Eiran Cashin and Craig Forsyth also went close.

Here's how the players rated

Jacob Widell Zetterstrom: Couldn't do much about the goal which was a peach of a strike from Jobe Bellingham with the pace just proving too much for the Sweden international. Couple of kicks went astray. 5

Kane Wilson: Showed some promise going forwards and won a couple of free-kicks with some sharp approach play down the right, but he had his hands full with Romaine Mundle defensively. 5

Nat Phillips: A solid enough full debut for the on-loan Liverpool defender who was an obvious target from attacking set-pieces. Mopped up a couple of dangerous situations. Went off injured. 5

Curtis Nelson: Provided some height from set-pieces but Derby will be disappointed they didn't make more of the chances they had from deadball situations. 5

Eiran Cashin: Had a couple of stray passes early on but was not the only guilty party of that as Derby turned the ball over cheaply at times. Diagonal balls didn't come off. Defended okay. 5

Ben Osborn: Was shifted to left wing-back and had a tricky customer to face in Patrick Roberts, but he coped admirably enough even though you sense that position is not his first choice. Set-pieces were disappointing. 5

Tawanda Chirewa: Worked hard in the press, but was careless in giving the ball away for the first goal and there were aspects of his game that need sharpening up. Did have a shot saved by Anthony Patterson. 4.5

Kenzo Goudmijn: Had a really good first 20 minutes, but then couldn't keep that influence going as Sunderland began to profit from Derby's own mistakes in possession. 5

Ebou Adams: Got about the pitch as you would expect, chucked a few tackles in and his job was there to protect. Fouled a few times and they were, shall we say, tactical ones. 5

Marcus Harness: Had a good chance early on that was blocked and then claimed a handball. But Derby needed to get him on the ball more and in the final third they will have been disappointed they didn't. 4.5

Jerry Yates: A hard night for the striker who battled away manfully on his own but didn't seem to have the same chemistry as he does with Mendez-Laing. 4.5

Subs:

Nathaniel Mendez-Laing (Yates 65): Didn't quite have the impact. 5

Corey Blackett-Taylor (Chierwa 65): Produced one jinking run. 5

Craig Forsyth (Osborn 65): Came close when he came on. 5

Kayden Jackson (Harness 65): Should have been put in on goal by Wilson. 5

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