The stage was set and the script written. At the death, deep into four stoppage-time minutes, Tom Lawrence delivered the perfect start to life in the dugout for Frank Lampard. Time stood still as his header looped into the net, capping Lampard’s whirlwind induction into the rollercoaster world of management. He fidgeted his way through a turgid first hour in which Reading took the lead until Mason Mount, the on-loan teenager, struck an unlikely equaliser before Lawrence popped up with the winner to crown a perfect first evening at the office.

As Lampard said, it will not always feel this good, this sweet – but this was some comeback. It was a cruel one for Reading – led by Paul Clement, Lampard’s former assistant manager at Chelsea. A powerful second-half header by Jon Dadi Bodvarsson had cut Derby down to size. But Mount, who excelled at Vitesse Arnhem last year, pulled Derby level with a speculative effort from distance that trickled through the fingers of Vito Mannone, the Reading goalkeeper, but no one could have foreseen Lawrence’s late heroics. The match-winner soaked the delirium from away supporters as he lay still in front of them, while Lampard’s assistants, Jody Morris and Chris Jones, mobbed him.

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“I’m not a jump-up-and-down sort of person – other than when we get last-second goals,” said Lampard. “You live it, you kick every ball and you see things from the sidelines that you want to effect – this is my new job. I’m sure there’s a comedown coming somewhere because the last half an hour or hour has been incredible. I’m pleased to get the first game out of the way and the reality is, for all of the hype, I’ll get judged on results and performances; I have no illusions in that. We have to stay very level-headed.

“That’s right up there with what I’ve done in my career. That’s what I’m back in the game for. It’s not going to happen every week, I’m fully aware of that. And make no mistake, we did not deserve to win the game. But, we are a side in a slight transition with young players and we have changed the team slightly. We did have a reaction to get back into the game.“

It will have been a proud occasion for Lampard’s father, perched alongside Harry Redknapp – his uncle – in the stands. After a warm embrace with Paul Clement, his assistant manager at Chelsea for two years under Carlo Ancelotti, a familiar throng of photographers welcomed him on to unfamiliar ground. The emanating emotions, and overriding ecstasy at full-time was in stark contrast to what had preceded it, when home supporters attempted to get under Lampard’s skin, chanting “boring, boring Derby” and “you’re just a shit Steven Gerrard”.

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Lampard handed debuts to two exciting youngsters, Harry Wilson and Mount, on loan from Liverpool and Chelsea respectively, but it was Reading who made a bigger first-half impression. A defensive fragility blighted Derby for large spells here, with Richard Keogh twice selling his defensive partner, Curtis Davies, short.

For Clement, he will need to pick his Reading players up off the floor. They flew out of the blocks, flummoxing Derby, only for Mannone’s error to gift them a route back in. At half-time, Lampard demanded more urgency after witnessing Mo Barrow put Andre Wisdom in a spin and Scott Carson’s goal come under bombardment, with Bodvarsson going close. His goal was well-deserved, and the fruits of a peach of a cross from Barrow, a livewire all evening. They led for only a matter of minutes, though, with Mount’s speculative effort levelling matters before the late sucker-punch. It was an exquisite winning goal; a sumptuous cross by Mason Bennett, the young substitute who had scooted down the right flank before picking out the leaping Lawrence.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Tom Lawrence scored a speculative header in the 94th minute to complete the comeback win for Derby. Photograph: James Marsh/BPI/Rex/Shutterstock

“To lose the game with the last kick of the game is a tough one, particularly in the first game of the season where you’ve put in so much work,” Clement said. “I thought we did enough to win the game, never mind lose it. It’s a harsh result and a big lesson for us – already.”