Derby County kicked off their pre-season campaign with a win by beating non-league Matlock Town 1-0 at Causeway Lane tonight.
The visitors came within the width of the woodwork from opening the scoring on 12 minutes after Johnny Russell's 30-yard strike pinged off the crossbar.
Despite the lowly status of their opposition, Steve McClaren's side struggled in their bid to edge ahead as Chris Martin and Craig Forsyth both tested the Matlock keeper to no avail.
However, the Rams' patience paid off on 39 minutes through Forsyth, who played a clever one-two with Martin before firing home the opener from inside the area.
Derby's momentum was disrupted by McClaren naming 11 substitutes during the break, but Max Lowe came close to adding a second, only to see his curling effort tipped past the post by Jon Kennedy.
It proved as close as County would come to doubling their advantage and the Championship outfit had to settle for a slender, yet deserved win.
Shane Callaghan
