Rams win basement battle

Fabrizio Ravanelli missed a chance to wrap it up

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Derby 1 Southampton 0

A freak goal by Youl Mawene gave Colin Todd his first victory as Derby manager.

Mawene's bizarre 23rd-minute strike provided the Rams' first win since the opening day of the season, and moved Derby out of the Premiership's bottom three.

It will make our weekend and Monday morning all the more enjoyable and is a big psychological boost for us

Midfielder Craig Burley on Derby's win

The result left Gordon Strachan still looking for his first win as Southampton manager.

Mawene laid claim to the goal which decided a dour basement battle between two struggling teams.

He and Saints striker James Beattie both swung at Craig Burley's inswinging corner and the ball flew high into the air.

Goalkeeper Paul Jones thought the ball was drifting out of play for a second corner but it dropped under the bar and over the line.

Southampton had come close to scoring when Paul Telfer met Wayne Bridge's cross to hammer a ninth-minute effort against the bar.

Telfer had Southampton's other first-half chance when he shot into the side-netting after Mart Poom had spilled Chris Marsden's powerful effort.

We had more crosses, more shots and more chances than them but we are struggling to get the ball in the back of the net

Saints boss Gordon Strachan

Derby did their best to gift Saints an equaliser, with Poom hammering a clearance against Marian Pahars and the ball bouncing wide of the goal.

Strachan introduced Matt Le Tissier in the 66th minute but 'Le God' was unable to save Southampton this time.

Fabrizio Ravanelli had scored in his five previous games but missed a chance to seal the points when clean through in injury time.

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Derby: Poom, Grenet, Mawene, Riggott, Higginbotham, Zavagno, Ducrocq, Burley, Powell, Ravanelli, Carbone. Subs: Oakes, Christie, Burton, Boertien, Bolder.

Southampton: Jones, Dodd, Lundekvam, Williams, Bridge, Telfer, Marsden, Oakley, Svensson, Pahars, Beattie. Subs: Moss, Le Tissier, Delap, El Khalej, Chala.

Referee: P Durkin (Dorset)