Portsmouth are pinned back down to the reality of the Championship following an uncomfortable defeat at Pride Park.
The Blues now stand on the precipice of the relegation zone ahead of this weekend's fixtures, remaining in 21st position on goal difference.
It’s now 3 consecutive midweek defeats away from home for John Mousinho’s side being that six-one thrashing away at Stoke in October, a two-nil defeat to Cardiff and now a 4-0 loss away at Derby County.
The Blues would have been going into this game with a huge amount of confidence following a successful week after comfortably defeating eleventh place Bristol City last Saturday and only just losing out on three points at home to the Championship top scorers Norwich City in a nil-nil draw under the Fratton Park lights on Tuesday.
Derby were on top for the majority of the first half and had Pompey on the back foot from minute one. The Rams held the ball with confidence and caused chaos in the Blues half for the opening five minutes.
Paul Warne’s side were then rewarded inside just eight minutes, when Jerry Yates fed through Mendez-Laing who rolled the ball past Terry Devlin, missing everyone in the penalty area, before right back Kane Wilson slotted home at the back post to give County the lead.
Pompey then managed to find some play with the ball, Josh Murphy and Matt Ritchie had chances to equalize, but Cashin and Craig Forsyth were there on several occasions for county.
The Blues failed to score an equalizer and were then later punished when they gave Derby a corner on 20 minutes, where Kenzo Goudmijn teed up the Irish centre half Cashin who doubled Derby’s lead, after Tom McIntyre failed to clear the header off the line.
Then just minutes later Mendez-Laing breezed past Ritchie, before laying off the ball to Forsyth who poked the ball into the area past Marlon Pack and Devlin and the ball was finished off by Ebou Adams, who made it three nil just half an hour in.
Half-time: Derby County 3-0 Portsmouth
Not too much
surprise Mousinho made changes at half-time, with Devlin and Ritchie coming off for Zack Swanson and Christian Saydee. Saydee slotted in behind Colby Bishop, pushing Callum Lang out wide. Swanson for Devlin being a like for like replacement at right back.
Murphy and Lang came forward on the counterattack early in the second half, but Nottingham Forest fan Colby Bishop was unable to put the ball away, forcing a save out of Swedish keeper Jacob Zetterstrom.
Derby then had a spot of bad luck in this game when their reliable defender Cashin went down holding his hamstring just before the hour mark. Liverpool loanee Nat Phillips was on for the County number 6.
Abdoulaye Kamara was then on for his fourth Pompey appearance with Freddie Potts making way for the Frenchman.
It was not long until Derby scored their 4th, when former Pompey man Marcus Harness was in acres of space ahead of Ogilvie and McIntyre fired the ball into the area, to which Pack ran back to defend, but the Pompey captain was on the wrong side of the ball, conceding an own goal to make it 4-0 to The Rams.
Paddy Lane was on for Josh Murphy and Elias Sorensen came on for Colby Bishop in the final two Pompey substitutions of the game.
Derby then had a chance after a horror mistake from the former Borussia Dortmund midfielder Kamara who gave the ball straight to the County substitute Kayden Jackson, who was denied by Nicholas Schmid to keep the scoreline away from a 5th goal for The Rams.
Connor Ogilvie went down with a concussion in the final four minutes of added time, but Pompey decided against making what would have been a sixth substitution allowed in the referee rule book.
Full-time: Derby County 4-0 Portsmouth
Derby County: 1. Zetterstrom, 3. Forsyth, 6. Cashin (12. Phillips), 35. Nelson, 2. Wilson, 32. Adams (16. Thompson), 8. Osborn,17. Goudmijn, 18. Harness (19. Jackson) 11. Mendez-Laing (C) (20. Elder), 10. Yates (9. Collins) (Formation: 4-1-4-1)
Unused Subs: 31. Vickers (GK), 7. Barkhuizen, 27. Blackett-Taylor, 39. Brown
Goals: Wilson 8’ Cashin 23’ Adams 29’ Pack (OG) 65’
Manager: Paul Warne
Portsmouth: 13. Schmid (GK), 3. Ogilvie, 7. Pack (C), 16. McIntyre, 24. Devlin (22. Swanson), 30. Ritchie (15. Saydee), 8. Potts (25. Kamara), 21 Dozzell, 23. Murphy (32. Lane) 49. Lang, 9. Bishop (18. Sorensen) (Formation: 4-2-3-1)
Unused Subs: 31. Archer (GK), 4. Towler, 5. Poole, 17. Moxon
Bookings: McIntyre 84’ (yellow)
Manager: John Mousinho
Referee: Oliver Langford
Venue: Pride Park
Attendance: 26,980
John Mousinho caught up with BBC Radio Solent's Andy Moon on the touchline moments after the full-time whistle:
Jake Smith will be back with 2 more Pompey fans on Monday (December 16th) night from 6pm with full reaction to the defeat at Pride Park.
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