DERBY County are up to second in the Championship table thanks to a 3-0 victory away to Reading.
Two goals from Chris Martin and one from Jordon Ibe gave the Rams three points at the Madejski Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The result, as well as lifting them into an automatic promotion spot, extended Derby's unbeaten run to 11 games in all competitions.
The visitors also registered a fifth successive clean sheet.
Steve McClaren's survived a scare inside the opening minute after John Eustace's intended backpass got caught under the feet of team-mate Zak Whitbread.
In an attempt to clear, Whitbread then lunged at Simon Cox, who went down in the area - but referee Darren Deadman waved away appeals for a penalty.
In the third minute, Cox slipped his marker to power a header just over from Hal Robson-Kanu's left-wing cross.
Derby's first chance came after eight minutes - Ibe's low centre was laid off by Martin to Craig Bryson and his powerful rising shot cleared the bar.
The visitors took the lead after 18 minutes.
Jamie Ward's floated corner from the right was met by Martin, whose downward header from six yards bounced past Robson-Kanu on the line and into the net.
Reading almost levelled 10 minutes later.
Jake Taylor's first-time drive from 20 yards was pushed out by Lee Grant into the path of Robson-Kanu but the Wales international's touch let him down and the ball rolled into the grateful arms of the keeper.
After 32 minutes, Taylor's cross from the right was headed into the side-netting by Glenn Murray, almost creeping inside Grant's near post.
Murray went even closer two minutes after that, glancing a header against the bar from an Oliver Norwood corner on the left.
The pressure was building on the Rams but they doubled their lead after 38 minutes.
Ibe combined well with Bryson before skipping past his man on the edge of the box and curling a low shot into the far corner from 10 yards.
Derby lost Ward to injury late in the half, leading to the introduction of Johnny Russell.
Reading finished the half strongly but the Rams held on to their two-goal lead.
Skipper Richard Keogh took an accidental blow to the face in added time and was replaced by Ryan Shotton at the break.
Derby might have extended their lead but a brilliant double save by Adam Federici twice denied Martin after 49 minutes.
And from the resulting corner, the ball dropped for Martin, who blazed over from 10 yards.
Reading were not out of it, though, and they piled on the pressure as the half went on.
They should have pulled one back in the 74th minute when Nick Blackman's low effort was palmed out by the diving Grant, only for Pavel Pogrebnyak to put the rebound wide of the open goal.
Murray then saw his effort deflected narrowly wide, before Grant came to the rescue with a couple of important punches.
But it was Derby who scored next, again the run of play, in the 79th minute.
Substitutes Jeff Hendrick and Russell combined neatly to find Martin, who wriggled free in the box before lifting the ball over Federici.
READING: Federici, Gunter, Pearce, Hector, Obita, Norwood (Kuhl, 69), Taylor, Robson-Kanu (Blackman, 69), Mackie (Pogrebnyak, 69), Cox, Murray. Other subs: Andersen (gk), Long, Cooper, Akpan.
DERBY COUNTY: Grant, Christie, Keogh (Shotton, 46), Whitbread, Forsyth, Eustace, Hughes, Bryson (Hendrick, 75), Ward (Russell, 42), Ibe, Martin. Other subs: Roos (gk), Buxton, Mascarell, Best.
REFEREE: D Deadman (Cambridgeshire).
ATTENDANCE: 18,141 (1,888 away fans).
