Chris Martin scored twice in the first half to inspire Derby County to a 4-2 victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers in their Championship clash at the iPro Stadium this afternoon.
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The home side took the lead in the third minute when Jeff Hendrick laid the ball into the path of Martin on the edge of the box and the forward rifled his strike into the corner.
George Thorne almost doubled the Rams' advantage when he latched on to a poor clearance from the Wolves defence and he caught the ball full on the volley, but Emiliano Martinez made the save to deny the midfielder.
Wolves got back into the game with a well-worked routine from a corner, which allowed Benik Afobe to peel off his man and collect a pass from James Henry to turn the ball past Scott Carson.
However, the hosts hit back as Dominic Iorfa failed to clear and Bradley Johnson sent the ball back into the middle. Martin and Martinez went for the cross, but the striker displayed predatory instincts to beat the keeper to send his header into the net.
The Rams were handed the chance to extend their lead when Tom Ince was brought down in the box by Danny Batth and the referee pointed to the spot. Martin took the spot kick, but saw his effort saved by Martinez, and the ball was put behind for a corner.
From the resulting set piece, Bradley Johnson turned the ball into the net after it was deflected into his path on the edge of the six-yard box to put his side in control at the break.
In the second half, Paul Clement's side notched their fourth goal of the afternoon as Craig Forsyth raided down the left and put the ball into the box. Martin's effort was blocked, although Johnny Russell pounced on the rebound to slot his strike into the net.
Wolves gave themselves hope in the 64th minute as Sheyi Ojo headed the ball into the path of Adam Le Fondre and the forward finished in style, sending a volleyed strike past Carson.
Russell had the chance to put the game beyond the reach of the visitors, but he could only fire his close-range strike straight at Martinez while under pressure from Iorfa.
However, the Rams held out for the win to move back into the top six of the Championship, while Wolves sit in 11th place.
Simon Sinclair
