Reaction from Pride Park as Stoke City make it three away wins in a row for the first time since the days of Johan Boskamp

Stoke City played through exhaustion to see through a 1-0 win at Derby County and claim a third straight away victory for the first time in 21 years.

Stoke have been made to run in the last week, first with 10 men to claim a 2-1 win at Bolton and then to give title contenders Middlesbrough a real test in mid-week.

It showed in their legs at times at Pride Park but Luke Graham’s header early in the second half and a superb late save from Viktor Johansson ensured they ended a gruelling few days with another three points.

They had gone into the Watford game a month ago having not won on the road since January but a triumph there, at Bolton and now at Pride Park is the best away run since the days of Johan Boskamp in late 2005.

With nearly a quarter of the season gone, Stoke have scored in every game, found different ways to win and sit sixth.

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Mark Robins had made two changes to his starting XI, bringing back fit-again Bosun Lawal at the heart of defence and Justin Devenny after a mid-week rest. Ben Johnson returned to right wing-back as Junior Tchamadeu and Bae Junho dropped to the bench, where Maksym Talovierov was back from suspension.

Derby had an energetic and aggressive enough start but Stoke looked threatening whenever they got the chance to attack a makeshift defence, especially when they could move the ball quickly between Ethan Galbraith, Devenny and McGlynn. That led to the opening chance for McGlynn on the edge of the Derby area when he opted for a side-footed shot, too close to the keeper, rather than feed the overlapping Johnson on his right.

Eric Bocat had a shot blocked on one forage forward down the left with an effort that could have bounced anywhere. Bocat showed pace and skill at times but he was swiped out mid-way through the first half by both Joel Ward and Mohammed Fuseini in an incident that didn’t even earn a free-kick.

It was another mysteriously-refereed game by Championship veteran Oliver Langford and Bocat looked in pain as he summoned the physios. His afternoon was over and Stoke will be hope he is not out of action for too long. Luca Bombino got the call from the bench and Stoke lost momentum in the run up to half-time.

Derby had been grumbling at Langford too after Carlton Morris controlled a long pass forward before hitting the ground when he felt Lawal’s arm across his chest. The striker was in a decent position just outside the box but there was no free-kick given.

McGlynn and Djibril Soumare both had long rangers that troubled row 30 more than stand-in keeper Josh Vickers and Derby ended the half with their best chance. Wilmot, Soumare and Lawal had all been guilty of sloppy passes in the defensive third and the last of those gifted the home team a corner in added time that was played back to Sammy Szmodics. His shot was deflected through bodies and eventually bounced favourably for Stoke when it looked like it was on its way in.

Instead, it was Stoke who were ahead almost immediately after the restart. There were ironic cheers for Langford – who looked like he had received an inquisition from Galbraith while waiting for Derby to come back out – as he awarded the visitors a couple of free-kicks for fouls on Cisse then Bombino.

Derby captain Lewis Travis managed to injure himself in the process of fouling Bombino and, just as he had hobbled off, Galbraith swung a free-kick into the back post where Graham lost his man and headed into the top corner. That was the 22-year-old’s first goal in Stoke colours since his summer move from Dundee.

Stoke looked like they had a couple of hard games over the last few days in their legs as the game went on. Even Galbraith was guilty of giving the ball away at times. From one misplaced George Hirst pass Derby broke and Rhian Brewster struck the outside of the post from 25 yards, although Viktor Johansson seemed to have it covered.

At the other end, Hirst had a shot deflected past the post while Johnson forced a save from Vickers when he found himself in space about 30 yards out.

Robins looked for fresh legs and Talovierov and Robert Bozenik replaced a tired-looking Lawal and Cisse. There were other players calling on their last reserves and Johansson tried to help relieve pressure when he could get involved.

Devenny might have sealed it when Stoke countered and Johnson slipped a lovely pass into the six-yard box but the midfielder couldn’t turn it into the net.

Instead the man who sealed it was Johansson. Morris flicked the ball on for David Ozoh running towards the six-yard box and it looked like he was touching it into the bottom left corner for the equaliser. But there was Johansson diving low to his right to brilliantly get his fingers to the ball and push it away and secure victory.

Here are the player ratings from Pride Park.

Johansson: A sweeper keeper at times in first half and there to punch or claim crosses in second, always looking for quick counter. Brilliant late save vs Ozoh. 9

Wilmot: Looked leggy as he gave away ball in own defensive third in first half but stuck to his task through what seemed a long second half. 7

Lawal: First start since injury. Can pass through the lines but has to guard against losses in concentration. 6

Graham: Probably best performance in a Stoke shirt, capped by goal. Took responsibility at the back and covered for teammates. 8.5

Johnson: Back on the right. Focused more on defence than attack but still zipped one long range shot on target and set up late chance for Devenny. 7.5

Bocat: Showed skill and pace down the left wing before injury which will leave Stoke questioning how much control referee had of game. 7

Soumare: A test of stamina as he patrolled in front of defence. A big influence although he made a couple of tired mistakes. 7

Galbraith: Looked drained through parts of match but still managed to appear and take the ball and try to offer some calm. 7

McGlynn: Willing to take on a couple of shots in the first half in what is a sharp introduction to life in the Championship. 6.5

Devenny: Called on all his reserves and might have been rewarded with close range finish at the death to seal it that somehow stayed out. 6.5

Cisse: Got lulled into a battle with Sanderson and might have to get used to not getting the kind of protection he thinks he should. 6

Substitutes

Bombino (for Bocat, 38): Won the free-kick that led to the winning goal and got stuck in down the left. 7

Hirst (for McGlynn, 46): A couple of loose touches when he might have been able to take advantage of space Derby were leaving. 6

Talovierov (for Lawal, 69): A useful extra body in the Stoke penalty area, grateful to see one header fly past his own post. 7

Bozenik (for Cisse, 69): Looked to help Stoke on the counter and try to keep the ball up the pitch. 6.5

Tchamadeu (for Devenny, 86): A late run out in midfield and showed pace on a dangerous counter. 6.5

Not used: Griffiths, Pearson, Junho, Manhoef.

Referee: Oliver Langford (West Midlands) 2