Paul Warne delivers verdict as Derby County equal record with big Bristol Rovers win
Latest Derby County news from DerbyshireLive as Rams head coach has his say on impressive 3-0 win at the Memorial Stadium
by Leigh Curtis · Derbyshire LivePaul Warne hailed one of Derby County's "most dominant" performances of the season as they romped to a 3-0 win at Bristol Rovers to roar back into the automatic promotion positions.
After a goalless first half, the Rams opened the scoring when Dwight Gayle bagged his second goal in a week when he prodded over the line after Tom Barkhuizen's shot had hit the bar.
Barkhuizen then got in on the act himself with a thumping finish from Nathaniel Mendez-Laing's pass before substitute Martyn Waghorn scored with a tap-in after some fine work from Korey Smith.
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The win moved Derby back into second and also equalled a club record of 12 away wins in one season that was achieved by the Derby sides of 2006-07 and 2004-05. And reflecting on a terrific performance, Derby head coach Warne said: "In the first half we were excellent.
"It's the most one of the most dominant displays we've had all season. I thought we were really good and in control and sometimes you don't get what you deserve.
"You can sometimes come away in these games losing off a set piece and they're a big, strong team. Our three-zone men today were excellent. Then we're asking the lesser physical players to get in and around the Chris Martins of this world.
"That really pleased me how defensively sound we looked. And then Wardy (Joe Ward) was unplayable in the first half. He was really good. As always with our teams, because we try and have athletic teams, that as the game gets more and more stretched, the more dangerous we looked.
"In the end, we could have won a lot more handsome than we did. But in moments today we really stood up to the task so I'm really pleased."