Derby County 1-3 Leeds United: FLW report as second-half comeback sees Whites brush Rams aside in FA Cup clash | OneFootball

FLW report from Pride Park for this FA Cup tie

Derby County saw their FA Cup campaign ground to an immediate halt by Premier League outfit, Leeds United, at Pride Park on Sunday afternoon.

As is often the case, it was a hotly-contested encounter between the Rams and Whites in DE24, exemplified by a six-minute period in the first half.

Derby goalkeeper, Jacob Widell Zetterstrom initially brought down Lukas Nmecha inside the penalty area, before making amends as he guessed the right way for Joel Piroe's subsequent penalty.

John Eustace's side took the lead moments later as Southampton loanee, Ben Brereton Diaz, slotted home his third of the season with a smart finish from inside the box after Leeds failed to clear their lines.

However, Daniel Farke's men completed a quick turnaround early in the second half to secure their passage into round four. Wilfried Gnonto sent a powerful effort into the roof of the net 10 minutes into the half, before Ao Tanaka pounced on an initial save from Zetterstrom.

Leeds wrapped up the encounter in the final minute of stoppage-time when James Justin was played one-on-one by Nmecha before slotting the ball home.

Derby County 1-3 Leeds United

Corey Blackett-Taylor was first to try his luck with a close-range strike inside six minutes that was diverted wide for a corner which was subsequently cleared by the Leeds rearguard.

The visitors' first response came three minutes later as Gnonto eventually found Noah Okafor, with the Swiss forward's curling effort always rising high.

Derby then saw Ben Brereton Diaz attempt to lob Karl Darlow from inside the box after a neat passing move, although the Chilean's effort was easily gathered by the experienced shot-stopper, before Blackett-Taylor was once again thwarted after a fast break.

After Piroe initially smacked the post on the half-hour mark from a tight angle, six minutes of chaos would ensue in DE24, which culminated in the Rams taking the lead.

Zetterstrom initially hacked Nmecha down as he attempted to round the keeper, before the Swede atoned for his error with a fine stop as Piroe aimed for the right-hand corner from 12 yards.

Eustace's side capitalised less than three minutes later as Leeds could only clear as far as Brereton Diaz, who swooped the ball under Darlow from 10 yards out, sending the home crowd into raptures.

Zetterstrom continued to be at the forefront of the action ahead of half-time, denying Gnonto and Piroe in quick succession with two smart saves.

Looking to respond early in the second period, Farke's side saw two efforts from Piroe and Okafor drift wide before Jaka Bijol's pass was allowed to run into Gnonto's path, with the Italian sending a stunning effort into the top corner.

The visitors continued to turn the screw and completed a four-minute turnaround when the Derby keeper could only parry Piroe's latest effort into Tanaka's path, with the Japanese midfielder reacting quickest to turn the ball home.

Eustace's side looked to respond straight away when Batth's header looped just over Darlow's right-hand post, whilst Zetterstrom was on hand to deny Piroe and Nmecha from putting daylight between the two sides as the encounter ticked into the final 15 minutes

Despite introducing the likes of Patrick Agyemang and Rhian Brewster in an attempt to take the contest into extra-time, Derby would fall short in those aims when Justin put the seal on proceedings in the final 90 seconds with a composed finish.

As a result, the Rams have been knocked out at the third round stage for a second straight campaign, whilst Leeds' recent run of form has stretched to just one defeat in nine across all competitions.

FT: Derby County 1-3 Leeds United

Player Ratings

Derby County

Jacob Widell Zetterstrom - 6.5

Joe Ward - 6.5

Sondre Langas - 6

Danny Batth - 6.5

Craig Forsyth - 6

Ben Brereton Diaz - 7

Lewis Travis - 6.5 (Ozoh 63" - 6.5)

Oscar Fraulo - 6.5 (Adams 46" - 6)

Corey Blackett-Taylor - 6.5 (Brewster 63" - 6.5)

Bobby Clark - 7 (Eames 73" - 6.5)

Lars Jorgen-Salvesen - 6 (Agyemang 73" - 6)

Unused Subs: Richard O'Donnell, Curtis Nelson, Callum Elder, Andi Weimann

Leeds United

Karl Darlow - 6.5

Sebastiaan Bornauw - 6.5 (Justin 46" - 7.5)

Ethan Ampadu - 7.5

Jaka Bijol - 7.5

Wilfried Gnonto - 8 (Byram 85" - 6)

Ao Tanaka - 8.5

Ilia Gruev - 7 (Longstaff 73" - 6.5)

Jack Harrison - 7

Joel Piroe - 7 (Stach 89" - N/A)

Lukas Nmecha - 7.5

Noah Okafor - 7 (Aaronson 89" - N/A)

Unused Subs: Lucas Perri, Sam Chambers, Pascal Struijk, Dominic Calvert-Lewin

John Eustace reacts as Derby County defeated by Leeds United

Reacting to the Rams' defeat against top flight opposition, Eustace's initial verdict was: "I'm really pleased with the effort of the group.

"First half, I thought we were good value for money and got some vital minutes into so many players that needed it today.

"Obviously, we made a lot of changes. It was great to see Lewis Travis play his first 60 minutes in 11 weeks, and we gave a debut to two players, which was a real positive.

"David Ozoh getting some vital minutes in that second half, Danny Batth, Craig Forsyth. Those players needed that time on the pitch, and I thought we were really competitive, and I was pleased with the effort," he added.

Reflecting on the first half, Eustace stated: "It was great. Obviously, we are up against a top team with top players, especially against (our) Championship players.

"Their squad is an excellent squad of players, and they've improved on that from last year.

"It was always going to be a difficult game. But, I thought the effort the players put in was very good.

"The most pleasing thing is that we got the minutes in the legs of the players we needed to," the Rams boss said.

Daniel Farke reacts as Leeds United come back against Derby County

Reacting to his side's eventual success against the Rams, Farke said: "Very happy (with the second half).

"First of all, congratulations to my players and a big compliment for this performance and for progressing into the next round against a Derby side who were competitive.

"They showed a good performance. It was a difficult game," he added. "Even before the game, I was sure it would be 50/50.

"You are the favourite as a Premier League side. But Derby have shown (their quality) against top Championship sides this year with clean sheets and a victory against Middlesbrough lately. It is difficult to be successful here.

"After our run of fixtures, we had to rotate a bit more today, whilst they had no midweek game.

"I think we needed 20 minutes to adapt to their aggressiveness and intensity," Farke claimed.

"Once we accepted this and were ready for the duels and battles, I think our quality shone through, and we had the game under control."

Attendance

The attendance at Pride Park this afternoon was 21,741.