Derby County concluded their pre-season campaign with a 2-0 win over Greek Super League outfit Atromitos.
A first-half Corey Blackett-Taylor penalty, followed by a Kenzo Goudmijn worldie in the second period, rounded off a convincing display as the Rams completed preparations for the new campaign.
Though subdued, with the east and west stands being closed for the fixture, there was a buzz in the air as John Eustace’s side returned to Pride Park for their only pre-season outing in front of a home crowd.
A week out from their Sky Bet Championship opener away against Stoke City, the Rams offered plenty of reasons for supporters to be hopeful ahead of the new campaign.
Eustace opted for just a single change ahead of this game, with Ryan Nyambe resuming his familiar role at right-back in place of youngster Freddie Turley.
Atromitos fielded a line-up of relative unknowns to a British audience, though some may have been familiar with Quini, a former Real Madrid prospect now plying his trade on the Greek side’s right wing.
It was Leonidas Vokolos’ side who dictated play in the opening exchanges, and a looping effort from Peter Michorl in the fourth minute almost gave the visitors a perfect start, though the Austrian’s speculative effort sailed narrowly over the crossbar.
The Kyanólefki’s early dominance continued, and Makana Baku’s eyes lit up when he breached the Rams’ defence three minutes later after a darting run down the right.
But for all the move’s promise, the German failed to keep his effort on target as it drifted comfortably wide of the near post.
After avoiding an early setback, the Rams settled into the game and began to find their own joy down Atromitos’ left flank.
One such move saw Blackett-Taylor deploy an excellent dummy to afford himself space to cut into the box, before dispatching an inch-perfect cross towards the six-yard box.
Club captain Ebou Adams awaited his delivery, but his powerful strike could only ricochet off of the crossbar, a let-off for the Greek visitors.
Atromitos’ luck could only stretch so far, and when Blackett-Taylor again broke into the box from the left in the 14th minute, he was dragged down by Quini, with referee Adam Herczeg wasting no time in pointing to the spot.
The former Charlton Athletic winger stepped up and rocketed a thunderous finish into the bottom left-hand corner, which Eleftherios Choutesiotis was powerless to stop despite guessing the right way.
Physicality became the prominent theme for the remainder of the half and, while it was Derby who were on top, the Rams were unable to extend their advantage before the break.
Eustace’s side endured an early scare at the start of the second period as Adams hit the deck, seemingly in significant discomfort.
But, true to character, the midfielder was quickly back to his feet as a collective sigh of relief echoed around Pride Park.
Just seconds later, in the 50th minute, fear quickly evaporated and was replaced with elation as Goudmijn doubled the Rams’ lead in truly remarkable fashion.
The Dutchman’s corner delivery sailed past everybody in the box and, unbeknownst to Choutesiotis, nestled itself into the top right corner.
Kayden Jackson had a chance to compile the misery on Atromitos a short while later but, after receiving the ball at the corner of the six-yard box, he was unable to keep his effort on target.
Jackson was again prominent as Derby somehow failed to add a third when his cross to Dajaune Brown was rocketed over the bar from point-blank range.
Baku had a chance to pull one back for the visitors late on after rounding Jacob Windell Zetterström, but the German made a meal of the chance after taking too long with the ball at his feet, an open goal ahead of him.
Derby saw out the remainder of the game with relative ease, rounding off their pre-season in style with a 2-0 win.
Ebou Adams is deserving of a special mention for how he controlled the midfield with such ease (again!), but the constant threat posed by Blackett-Taylor made him unplayable.