Derby County defeated Sheffield Wednesday 2-0 at the iPro Stadium.

Derby’s Richard Keogh

Derby County defender Richard Keogh had an outstanding afternoon as he contributed greatly to his side’s 2-0 win over Championship rivals Sheffield Wednesday at the iPro Stadium.

The Rams headed in to the match coming off a last-gasp defeat to Huddersfield Town last weekend, while Wednesday started the afternoon arguably as favourites due to a good run of form.

The opening exchanges were fairly even, but it was Derby who scored only their eighth goal of the season via a Cyrus Christie header before fellow defender Alex Pearce doubled the hosts lead after the break.

Derby’s Richard Keogh and Alex Pearce (L) celebrate at the end of the match

Derby held on to record only their second home win of the season, and the second victory in four games under new manager Steve McClaren in his second spell at the club in just over 15 months.

There were a number of solid performers for the hosts, but captain Richard Keogh was arguably the standout player as he kept Wednesday’s dangerous attacking players at bay over the course of the 90 minutes.

Tackles Interceptions Effective Clearances Def Duels Won Aerial Duels Won Ball Recoveries Accurate Passes Mins Played Richard Keogh 1 2 4 7 5 3 55 90

As shown by the table provided by Opta, the Rebublic of Ireland international dominated Wednesday’s front duo of Gary Hooper and Fernando Forestieri with a number of key contributions.

Keogh posted one tackle, two interceptions, three ball recoveries, four effective clearances, five aerial duels and an impressive seven defensive duels while in possession he was reliable as ever.

New Derby County manager Steve McClaren poses

McClaren has a big job on his hands at Derby as the current squad is unbalanced and lacking in confidence, but in his four games so far he has taken seven points and conceded just the one goal.

The victory momentarily takes the Rams up to 18th in the Championship table, while the Owls remain in seventh.

Richard Keogh of Derby County celebrates with the Brian Clough Trophy after the game

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