Derby boss Paul Warne hailed his side’s attacking mentality after the 1-0 victory at Cambridge secured a club-record 13th away win of the season.

The Rams could have secured promotion if both Bolton and Peterborough dropped points, but all three League One automatic-promotion chasers won to take the race for second down to the final day.

Cambridge gave as good as they got after half-time but were unable to force an equaliser, having seen Nathaniel Mendez-Laing break the deadlock in the 39th minute, but the U’s need two points from their last two games to secure their spot in League One.

Even that would only be necessary if Cheltenham win both of their remaining fixtures.

“I’ve tried to be consistent with the lads all the time, keep convincing them not to live in regret, try and play on the edge. We’ve never set up to draw,” said Warne.

“It’s not about setting out to get points, it’s about trying to win every game we can. We’re not always going to be at our best but we always create enough chances to give ourselves a chance.

“We had an opportunity today to take another step, got an opportunity today to be remembered for something for however many years it takes to beat it, and an opportunity to get us a step closer to where we want to be, to make everyone proud.

“The first thing the players do is they get on their phones, they just know they’ve got another week. I don’t think we’ve picked up any severe injuries, I had a good plethora of players to pick from today.

“We’ve got everyone fit for the last game of the season, which I’m not going to complain about.”

Mendez-Laing’s goal proved to be the winner to leave Derby three points clear of Bolton heading into the final match.

Cambridge came on strong after the break, with Jordan Cousins firing just wide from distance and Ryan Bennett seeing a shot blocked.

Cambridge boss Garry Monk felt his side matched their promotion-seeking opponents.

He said: “It’s just a real shame for us, a disappointment that the one moment with their goal was from our set-play and a counter-attack which we didn’t deal with well enough.

“We’re really disappointed with that, to concede that way. Really there was nothing else in the game.

“In the second half the territory was all ours and we were really pushing but if we’re honest we probably just lacked that bit of composure and quality in the final third.

“We’re competing hard. We’ve just taken second in the league really close and had them pinned back for the whole second half.

“There can’t be many teams that do that to Derby. We just needed that little bit more composure, to move their shape before we delivered certain passes.

“I can’t complain again with the players. You can see there’s a group of players fighting, trying to get the right results for the club. We just have to continue with that.”

Derby moved to the brink of promotion to the Championship after a 1-0 win at Cambridge.

Nathaniel Mendez-Laing’s goal shortly before half-time leaves Paul Warne’s side needing one point at home to bottom club Carlisle next weekend to go up.

Cambridge will be safe if they win either of their two remaining games, or if Cheltenham fail to win both of theirs.

U’s keeper Will Mannion tipped Louie Sibley’s corner onto the bar early on, while at the other end Joe Wildsmith saved well from Macauley Bonne in the 15th minute.

Mendez-Laing nearly scored in spectacular style after 38 minutes, seeing his superb curler from nearly 30 yards come back off the bar, but he only had to wait a few seconds before putting the Rams ahead.

Sibley played Mendez-Laing in behind the defence, and he rounded keeper Mannion outside the box before firing into an empty net.

Cambridge came on strong after the break, with Jordan Cousins firing just wide from distance and Ryan Bennett seeing a shot blocked.

Derby head coach Paul Warne is taking nothing for granted despite another shift in his team’s favour in the race for automatic promotion.

A 3-0 home win over Leyton Orient coupled with Bolton’s draw with Portsmouth means the Rams have a four-point lead in second place, although the Lancashire club have a game in hand.

It was vital Derby took maximum points and in front of another 30,000-plus crowd they went ahead in the 10th minute when Kane Wilson pounced at the back post from a Nathaniel Mendez-Laing corner.

Another set-piece led to the second in the 18th minute, with Sonny Bradley volleying in a Louie Sibley corner from close range.

Orient were more of a threat in the second half but the best chances fell to Derby, with Mendez-Laing failing to convert in the 61st minute after racing clear.

Sibley also went close on two occasions before Bradley sealed a convincing victory with a back-post header from another corner.

Warne said: “The lads have done well, scored from three set-pieces and we probably could have scored from open play but it’s just about winning, so I’m happy.

“It’s been a good day but all it does is give us another opportunity. With two games left it’s in our hands again but we’ve got to try and back it up with two more wins to give us a real chance to go up.

“Obviously now it gives us a much better chance, but that’s all it is so we haven’t achieved anything, but it did feel like a good day. The lads performed well. I don’t think Joe (Wildsmith) had a shot (to save).

“Some days it’s difficult to score goals. Today I watched Leeds play, they couldn’t score, last night I watched Leicester and they couldn’t score. When you are at the top of the table it’s difficult to get over the line.”

Leyton Orient head coach Richie Wellens said: “They ran all over us. They are a good team with loads of experience and they just overpowered us.

“The players have been unbelievable this year but they are probably on their last legs and we are asking too much of them with what we’ve got available. We just ran out of steam a little bit.

“The big one was the set plays. We started the game okay but after the set plays in a quick space of time it becomes very difficult.

“I think it’s something we need to improve on next year. We’ve done well but I think with set plays in this division if you can score a lot more than you concede you can get an extra 12 points.”

Sonny Bradley’s brace kept Derby on course for automatic promotion as they claimed a 3-0 win over Leyton Orient.

The Rams got the start they needed in the 10th minute when Kane Wilson tapped in at the back post from a Nathaniel Mendez-Laing corner.

It got even better for the home side eight minutes later when a Louie Sibley corner dropped to Bradley and he fired into the roof of the net.

Orient hardly figured as an attacking threat until Ethan Galbraith had a shot blocked at the end of a first half which had been all Derby.

Shaq Forde had a shot deflected over at the start of the second half but Mendez-Laing went close to a third for Derby with a flick that went narrowly over.

Mendez-Laing had a great chance to finish the game in the 61st minute when he raced clear but a heavy touch allowed goalkeeper Sol Brynn to deny him.

But Bradley made no mistake from another corner in the 86th minute with a bullet header at the back post.

Derby boss Paul Warne felt a goalless draw against mid-table Wycombe represented a good point despite its implication in the race for promotion in League One.

The Rams missed the chance to put distance between themselves and Bolton in the hunt for automatic promotion to the Championship.

Derby could not make early pressure pay and were forced to withstand a barrage of chances from the Chairboys in a stalemate that left the Rams two points clear of Bolton having played one game more.

“It’s frustrating,” Warne said. “We’ve got three games left and the players want it so badly that it could impact their performance.

“First half we looked good as we created chances and we passed the ball really well, but we missed two absolute sitters and we need to take one of them.

“The longer the game goes, the harder it is and we were lucky to not lose so this might be a really good point for us.

“It’s that time of the season when teams are fighting for promotion and relegation so the pressure mounts.

“These people aren’t robots, but we need to be a bit more patient, breathe and play the way we’ve played.

“I thought we forced things and there were times I saw individuals rather than a team, not through selfishness, but by someone trying to grab the game to make that moment happen but we didn’t have it.”

Derby almost took the lead within two minutes as Wycombe defender Ryan Tafazolli’s header nearly went past Franco Ravizzoli in goal.

Four minutes later, Derby missed a gilt-edged chance of their own making as Corey Blackett-Taylor shot wide in front of an open net having been set up by Conor Washington.

Washington was then denied by a block from Jack Grimmer before the resulting set-piece from Nathaniel Mendez-Laing was tipped over the bar.

From there, Wycombe grew into the game but failed to properly test Joe Wildsmith in the Rams net as Beryly Lubala and Kieran Sadlier were two of several home players to send attempts wide.

Conor Hourihane and James Collins went close for Derby with seconds remaining.

Wycombe boss Matt Bloomfield said: “We were a bit shaky for the first 15 minutes or so, but we woke up and played very well for the next 75 minutes.

“We played against a team, and rightly so, who are playing for a place in the Championship.

“They’ve got loads of experience but I thought we were excellent as we got a clean sheet and on another night, we could have won it.

“I believe we could be higher than where we are and tonight we’ve gone toe-to-toe with one of the best teams in the league.”

Derby head coach Paul Warne has urged his players to enjoy the pressure after they strengthened their automatic promotion chances with a 1-0 win over Blackpool.

The Rams came out on top in a tense, close-fought game that was settled by Ebou Adams’ superb first-half strike.

Clear chances were few and far between until the ball fell to Adams on the edge of the box in the 40th minute and the midfielder smashed home an unstoppable shot to celebrate his first Derby goal.

Derby should have added a second in the 55th minute when Nathaniel Mendez-Laing put Conor Washington through but Blackpool goalkeeper Daniel Grimshaw made an excellent save.

It resulted in a nervy finish for Derby, who needed keeper Joe Wildsmith to beat out a Sonny Carey free-kick in the 71st minute.

Blackpool continued to find openings and Kyle Joseph had two goalbound shots blocked by Curtis Nelson and Eiran Cashin in the closing minutes.

The win sets Derby up for Tuesday night’s visit to leaders Portsmouth and Warne said: “I told the lads before the game that pressure is a privilege.

“To play in these games and to have something to go for is amazing because you can have loads of seasons where it just fizzles out.

“I don’t think there’s any easy opposition in this league, it is tough and what I did like today was our game management.

“I joked with the lads after that what we normally do with five minutes left is just give the ball away all the time so I really liked our game management at the end.

“I was impressed with our discipline out of possession. Footballers always want the ball all the time so I think the fact the lads took all the information on from the coaches this week, the out of possession stuff impressed me the most.”

For Blackpool head coach Neil Critchley, it was a familiar story.

He said: “I thought we played with bravery, passed the ball well, caused them problems, got into the final third often, got into good situations and failed.

“It’s been the story of our season in certain games away from home. They produced a moment of quality, we don’t, they defend the goal better than us and that’s why they win 1-0 and that’s why they are where they are and why we are where we are.

“We’ve got six games to go and there will be plenty of twists and turns but I’m sick of saying the same things. We’ve created more than enough good moments and didn’t do enough in front of the goal and that’s all too common for us this season.”

Derby’s promotion hopes were dealt a major blow as they suffered a narrow 1-0 League One defeat at midtable Northampton.

The Cobblers’ first win in six games – and their first ever over Derby – came thanks to Sam Hoskins’ first-half strike, his 15th goal of the season.

Derby dominated possession early on and they should taken a 20th-minute lead but Martyn Waghorn side-footed the ball over with the goal at his mercy.

Northampton struck against the run of play midway through the first half when Louis Appere chased down a long ball and showed brilliant vision to pick out Hoskins, who volleyed first time into the bottom corner.

The visitors responded well but they could not find a leveller before half-time despite Ebou Adams twice going close, first denied by Sam Sherring’s goal-line clearance and then heading over when well placed.

Nathaniel Mendez-Laing almost converted Kane Wilson’s cross after the restart before Manny Monthe hit the post at the other end.

Derby applied plenty of late pressure but could find no way through Northampton’s resilient rearguard and their misery was compounded by a straight red card for Sonny Bradley in stoppage-time.

Paul Warne brushed off his Derby side moving back into the top two of Sky Bet League One after a convincing 3-0 win at Bristol Rovers.

The Rams boss explained that if his team keep winning, following the club’s sixth victory in their last nine games, then they need not worry about what any of their promotion rivals are doing.

Dwight Gayle opened the scoring in the 55th minute, bundling in after Tom Barkhuizen’s shot had hit the crossbar and bounced on the goal-line.

Barkhuizen guided in a first-time effort from a Nathaniel Mendez-Laing pass to double their lead before substitute Martyn Waghorn made sure of the result when he poked in from close range in the 89th minute.

“We just keep saying to the lads ‘don’t look at the league table, just keep playing your best football for 10 games and see where we’re at’,” said Warne.

“Everything matters – I’ve said that from day one. I was talking to the lads today that it’s 250 days since we started this campaign and the pre-season, and everything matters, every tackle you make, every tackle you miss.”

Warne’s side have now won back-to-back league games 3-0 and his side may be finding form at the right time. The former Rotherham boss is eager for his side to find yet more consistency.

“You’ve just got to be bang on the money if you’re going to be successful and today this performance is already over,” he added.

“I want the lads to enjoy it for about half an hour, but then we’ve got to do it again Tuesday and then again Saturday. You’ve got to be relentless.

“My only slight criticism is that at times today we let them off the hook where we could have really finished them off. But I’m really pleased with the goals and the clean sheet.”

Bristol Rovers counterpart Matt Taylor recognised the quality of the opposition, hailing Derby as the best team in the division before the match.

Afterwards, the Rovers boss was particularly unhappy with how his side dealt with dead-ball situations.

“Set-pieces were frustrating as we’ve got a couple of first contacts on the long throw and the corner [that led to the opening goal] and got there first, but if we get there second then it’s more of a scramble. We have to be better.

“The next two [goals] come when we’re in possession of the ball and the third is when we’re really chasing the game. But that was a little bit of a reflection of us today. Our ball use wasn’t good enough today.

“In terms of the individual aspects they ‘manned’ the game today – they taught us a lesson in how to manage the game and how to manipulate certain situations.”

Dwight Gayle scored his second goal for Derby as the striker boosted the Rams’ drive for a Sky Bet League One automatic promotion place in a 3-0 win at Bristol Rovers.

The former Newcastle forward opened the scoring in the 55th minute before Tom Barkhuizen added a quick second three minutes later.

Martyn Waghorn wrapped up the three points late on, which saw them climb up to second in the table.

A poor clearance from Lewis Gordon fell to Barkhuizen, who swept against the crossbar, with 34-year-old Gayle reacting quickest to prod in from inches out as the ball bounced on the goal-line.

Derby doubled their lead when Nathaniel Mendez-Laing broke forward and played the ball across for Barkhuizen to put a powerful first-time strike into the top corner.

Antony Evans curled just over the bar with 25 minutes left to play and Eiran Cashin had to clear off the line as Scott Sinclair advanced on goal with Rovers pushing to come back into the game.

But the Rams stood firm, sealing the victory with a minute to play as substitute Waghorn tapped in Korey Smith’s low cross.

Derby boss Paul Warne hailed Dwight Gayle’s ability to make “a massive difference” after his first goal for a year helped promotion-chasing County beat Port Vale 3-0 at Pride Park.

The 34-year-old striker, who joined Derby last month as a free agent after leaving Stoke, opened his Rams account to make it 2-0 on the stroke of half-time – just as Vale were starting to cause the home side some problems.

Derby had made a lively start and went ahead in the fourth minute through Louie Sibley, whose shot took a big deflection to beat Connor Ripley.

The Vale goalkeeper denied Derby a second in the 11th minute with a double save from Nathaniel Mendez-Laing and Max Bird and the visitors had a good period before Gayle pounced in the 44th minute.

Ebou Adams provided the cross and Gayle planted a header from 12 yards into the bottom right corner, and Derby sealed victory in the 58th minute through Sibley’s powerful finish.

Warne recognised the importance of Gayle’s first goal since he scored for Stoke on March 4th last year.

He said: “It was nice Dwight got his first goal, I think he’s scored in every league now.

“I’ve said all along you are only ever as good in any game as your goalkeeper and your centre-forward, and if your centre-forward can get a yard in the box and get a goal at a crucial time it makes a massive difference.

“It will give him a right boost, it will do him no end of good. We know he’s rusty but we also know that he can definitely play at this level and he’s another threat for us.

“Some of his touches today were good again and he’s taken a little bit more rust off. It’s obviously great that Dwight scores because all strikers want to score.

“It was nice to get the second goal just before half-time, it made the lads happier in the dressing room but I wasn’t really happy, I was disappointed.

“We had put ourselves under pressure and seemed to panic with three players going for the same ball but I thought in the second half we were comfortable.”

Derby’s win kept them second in League One, seven points behind leaders Portsmouth, while Vale remain deep in trouble at the other end of the table after suffering an eighth defeat in 11 league matches since their last win.

Vale manager Darren Moore said: “We gave ourselves a mountain to climb conceding an early goal. The manner of the goal wasn’t very good but I just thought in the game after we had that early setback we never really condensed the pitch.

“I think the difficult thing was the two goals, one in the first five minutes and then the other just before half-time, that was probably the most disappointing one because 2-0 is a damaging blow.

“There is a little bit of naivety with us, our mindset can be better, needs to be better, will be better because we get some time to work with them on the training ground this week.”

Dwight Gayle scored his first Derby goal and Louie Sibley bagged a brace in a comfortable 3-0 win over struggling Port Vale.

It keeps Derby second in League One and leaves Vale without a win this year and deep in relegation trouble.

Derby made a lively start and went ahead in the fourth minute through Sibley whose shot took a big deflection to beat Connor Ripley.

The Vale keeper denied Derby a second in the 11th minute with a double save from Nathaniel Mendez-Laing and Max Bird before Tom Barkhuizen fired over from eight yards for the hosts.

Vale appeared to have weathered the storm but they conceded again in the 44th minute with Gayle planting a precision header from 12 yards past Ripley.

Ben Garrity headed a Vale corner wide at the start of the second half but Derby sealed victory in the 58th minute when Joe Ward crossed to the back post and Sibley finished emphatically.

Derby could have added further goals while third-bottom Vale failed to register a shot on target.

Teenager Karoy Anderson scored his first senior goal earned Charlton a shock 2-1 win at promotion-chasing Derby.

Eiran Cashin put Derby ahead but Alfie May scored from the penalty spot before 19-year-old Anderson sealed Charlton’s first win since November.

Derby dominated from the start, but did not have a shot until the 25th minute when Korey Smith fired wide from the edge of the box.

Charlton did well to frustrate the hosts, but they fell behind to a set-piece in the 39th minute.

Nathaniel Mendez-Laing swung over a corner and Cashin got in front of a defender to head in at the near post.

Charlton should have equalised in the 61st minute when substitute Chuks Aneke headed a corner against the crossbar, but they were level four minutes later.

Home goalkeeper Joe Wildsmith brought down Daniel Kanu and May stroked the penalty into the bottom right corner.

Charlton stunned Derby in the 80th minute when a mistake by Ebou Adams let Kanu in and although Wildsmith saved, Anderson smashed the rebound home.

Derby assistant manager Richie Barker was delighted with the way the Rams executed their game plan in Tuesday night’s 3-0 League One victory at Exeter to boost their promotion hopes.

The home side saw more of the ball – they enjoyed 70 per cent possession – but the ruthless Rams were clinical with their chances and won the game with goals from Max Bird, Nathaniel Mendez-Laing and Tom Barkhuizen.

“I am pleased for our fans, given the long journey and to take something back is pleasing,” Barker said. “It is nice to get the clean sheet and it doesn’t do the goal difference any harm either.

“We were patient out of possession and I am sure – if you look at the stats – it will look like they have dominated the game.

“They are obviously a very good technical side and very well coached. We came with a plan to ensure we only pressed certain passes and we did it really well.

“There is a lot of work that goes on to ensure we give them the correct information. No two games are the same and we will have a totally different game on Saturday than tonight.

“We have to make sure the players are best prepared we we can. That is why we do the work we do and sometimes you have to sacrifice your principles in terms of letting certain teams have it and pressing certain passes.

“The lads took the information on really well.”

Exeter manager Gary Caldwell rued the mistakes that led to Derby’s goals and said: “I think they punished us for every mistake we made.

“In those big moments, against the big teams, we have to be more ruthless when we lose the ball.

“We have to foul and we have to penetrate the (defensive) line more. I thought we played well in two thirds of the pitch.
They sat back and allowed us to have the ball.

“We have to recognise that having the ball is not enough and we have to penetrate and we have to create better moments from having the ball.

“I think it is a lesson that we have to take. I don’t think it’s a disaster to lose to a team that is second in the league, but there are definitely moments where we can improve and we have to learn that very quickly.

“I thought we played well in possession in two thirds of the pitch, but we could have created more.

“There are details within the game that I feel we can improve. There are details that we did very well and the biggest lesson for me is that against these teams with physicality, speed, power and quality, they punish you for any mistake you make and we have to take that on the chin.”

Derby boss Paul Warne believes his side’s away form could be the catalyst for promotion after a 3-1 victory at Fleetwood.

The Rams fired themselves to within two points of second-placed Bolton with a fine fifth straight victory on the road.

Player-of-the-match Nathaniel Mendez-Laing opened the scoring before prolific marksman James Collins hit his 16th goal of the season on the stroke of the break.

Jayden Stockley pulled one back in the second half, but Tom Barkhuizen ensured Derby’s impressive away run went on.

Warne said: “We did enough to win and come the end of the season it doesn’t matter how you win, it’s just important that you win.

“We’ve done well away from home in different football matches. At Oxford and Wigan, they were different matches to today.

“It’s a boost for us. They’re good lads and they want to get near the summit.

“There aren’t many weekends when you know you’re going to have a positive trajectory with a win because of the FA Cup.

“To take ourselves into third is great. I think we’ve got another gear.

“In fairness, at 2-1 I can’t say my blood pressure wasn’t through the roof because it was. Every time they went forward you’re always thinking the worst so to get the third goal was a relief.

“Over the course of the season you can outplay teams at Pride Park, but away from home these games are difficult. It’s winter football.

“We could have been better, but I’ll take three points over a better performance and a draw.

“We need to be better and have more control in games. I thought we overcomplicated it a bit in the second half.

“Our own errors allowed them back into the game and that’s disappointing.

“We allowed the opposition in and then had to weather the storm.”

New boss Charlie Adam is yet to taste victory since taking over the reigns at Fleetwood two games ago.

The Cod Army remained rooted to the foot of League One after a third straight league defeat.

But former Scotland international Adam believes his squad, who have not won in their last 11 games in all competitions, have what it takes to stay up.

He said: “I couldn’t be anymore proud of these lads.

“Again, we’re disappointed with the goals that we lost. But we’ll take positives from the performance, the endeavour, the shape and the organisation. They took everything in.

“They came up against a quality side in Derby, they punished us. But I couldn’t be prouder of these players.

“This group of players are taking on what we’re trying to give them as a staff. If they keep giving me that then we’ll be pushing up the league there’s no doubt about that.

“My two midfielders were magnificent. I said that to them in the dressing room, they’re playing against a Premier League player in Conor Hourihane and I thought they were magnificent against him.

“If they get that level of intensity and quality during games then we’re a good side and I’m looking forward to the rest of the season with them.

“We could have nicked a point. We had chances. But it comes back to moments in games. We conceded a set piece in the second minute of added time in the first half and then we’re 2-0 down.

“If you don’t take your chances with the quality that Derby have you can get punished. But I want to take the positives and we’ll build on that for next week.”

Charlie Adam’s first home game in charge of Fleetwood ended with a 3-1 defeat to promotion-chasing Derby.

The former Scotland international has lost his first two matches, after defeat by the same scoreline at Shrewsbury on New Year’s Day, with his bottom side now winless in nine league games.

Nathaniel Mendez-Laing and James Collins did the majority of the damage in the first-half at Highbury.

Jayden Stockley pulled one back but Tom Barkhuizen sealed a vital three points in County’s promotion push in stoppage time.

Josh Earl squandered a great early chance for the hosts when he nodded wide.

Winger Mendez-Laing used his pace to get in behind and neatly slot home the opener in the 27th minute.

He almost made it two minutes later as he fired wide before Collins bagged a 16th goal of the season with a glancing header from Conor Hourihane’s corner at the near post.

After a poor spell, Stockley gave the hosts a glimmer as he converted Shaun Rooney’s deadly cross with 15 minutes to go.

But Barkhuizen sealed a fifth straight away win for the Rams with his late strike.