Bolton 1-2 Derby Player Ratings: Davies immense

Nugent celebrates – bbc.co.uk

A David Nugent brace helped Derby to a deserved 2-1 win at Bolton – but how did players on both teams fare? Here’s our ratings.

Bolton Wanderers

Mark Howard – his distribution was poor. May not be blamed too much for the goals due to the close-range area the shots came from but did not make too many saves either. 4

Dorian Dervite – due to Derby’s organization he was often tasked with delivering from deep for Madine, not one of his strengths. Looked suspect for the opener. 3
Reece Burke – baring difficult periods in the first half, he was one of Bolton’s better players. Had a solid second half. 5
Mark Beevers – struggled with the pace of Russell. May not be suited to playing as a wide centre-back at this level. 3

Filipe Morais – lively early on and Bolton should have used him more. Due to the lack of movement in front of him and Weimann’s pressing, he did not have space to get his crosses in. 5

Darren Pratley – battled well early on but then lost his bearings. Not helped by injuries, one might question whether he is Championship standard. 3
Josh Cullen – didn’t suit the dynamics of the team. He’d sometimes pass sideways or backwards which, for a more patient side, might offer his teammates to find another passing angle. For Bolton, it just meant they would hit Madine from a less favourable position. 5
Jem Karajan – energetic start but waned in influence. Didn’t get forward as much as one expected him to. 4
Andrew Taylor – lacked the attacking qualities to provide width on the left, but struggled to contain Russell defensively. Wasn’t much use in defensive nor attacking phases. 2

Adam Armstrong – has natural pace but lacked the desire to use it to get to the long balls that didn’t find Madine. Two up top systems require hardworking strikers – Armstrong’s movement off the ball was far too languid. 2
Gary Maxine – suffered from poor service and a lack of support and was dominated by Davies as a result. Took his goal well. Might have done better if he had more support and the service to him was from more advanced areas. 5

Adam Le Fondre (on 45) – worked harder than Armstrong and tried to press for the ball, but not all of his teammates were on his wavelength. 5
Will Buckley (on 68) – reasonable impact and offered more creativity than Karacan. Might have done enough to earn himself a start. 7
Aaron Wilbraham (on 81) – lack of pace hindered him but he did get an assist for Madine’s goal. 6

Derby County

Scott Carson – may be disappointed not to keep a clean sheet, considering the minimal extent to which he was tested. Caught wrong-footed for the goal. 4

Andre Wisdom – guilty of passing sideways on occasions but grew in confidence after the opener. Sound defensively and enjoyed some good combination play with Russell. 7
Richard Keogh – not as aggressive as his partner, but mopped up loose balls with minimum fuss and was composed in possession. 8
Curtis Davies – his fearless aerial dominance allowed him to win a lot of high balls against Madine, which was partly what discouraged Bolton from getting further up the pitch. 9
Marcus Olsson – his forward runs were key to at least two of the best chances Derby created. Ventured forward less in the second half due to the circumstances. 7

Bradley Johnson – a little wasteful in possession early on but grew in influence. Covered the left channel when Olsson went forward and provided balance throughout. 7
Tom Huddlestone – showed muscle and shrewd defensive positioning whilst playing some good passes in behind. Looks an excellent piece of business. 8

Johnny Russell – his clever movement was pivotal in the first half. Had the intelligence to move inside and then burst on the outside, as he did to assist the second goal. 8
Matej Vydra – found some good positions in the first half and was lively throughout. Had two good chances though and might feel he should have scored Derby’s third before the break. 7
Andreas Weimann – won’t grab the headlines yet had a massive impact on the game. His main task was to press the flank to deny Morais, by far Bolton’s most technically gifted player, space and possession. A wonderfully selfless performance. 9

David Nugent – although he didn’t have much pace, he made up for that with three things: a relentless work rate, clever movement and two clinical finishes. 8

Tom Lawrence (on 67) – snatched at his shots a little and perhaps needs some match practice to show what he can do. 4
Chris Martin (on 79) – given that Derby’s last 10 minutes was about counter-attacking rather than hold-up play, he lacked the pace to make a significant contribution. Didn’t have much time, though. 4
Jacob Butterfield (on 86) – didn’t have time to make his mark in an attacking sense.