Derby 1 Tottenham 0
John Gregory enjoyed a fairytale start to his reign as Derby County manager as the Rams scored a well-deserved 1-0 win against Tottenham at Pride Park today.
Gregory, who became Derby's third manager of the season when he joined on Wednesday, had striker Lee Morris to thank for the victory.
Morris was promoted into the starting line-up for only his second start of the season, and he rewarded Gregory's faith by firing Derby ahead after a goalmouth scramble in the 43rd minute.
On-loan French midfielder Pierre Ducrocq raced past a static Spurs midfield and fed veteran Italian international striker Fabrizio Ravanelli, whose shot was blocked by Tottenham defender Chris Perry.
The ball fell to Morris and his scuffed shot bobbled just over the line under the desperate reach of Spurs 'keeper Neil Sullivan.
Tottenham defenders launched a furious appeal with referee Uriah Rennie, believing the ball hadn't crossed the line, but the linesman flagged for a goal.
After the half-time interval, Tottenham launched a fierce assault on the Derby goal, but never looked like scoring as Derby's new signing Warren Barton expertly marshalled the Rams defence.
Sheringham nearly put Spurs ahead in the 14th minute when he collected a ball from Gus Poyet but he failed to test goalkeeper Andy Oakes with his shot.
Then in the 37th minute Sheringham reacted quickest to a Tim Sherwood freekick, but his header flew over the crossbar and Derby survived to hang on to a vital three points in their struggle against relegation.
AFP