Derby County put up a fighting display against Tottenham Hotspur but were unable to avoid yet another defeat as Spurs emerged 3-0 victors on Saturday.

The Rams put up a fighting display in the first half, managing to keep the Spurs attack at bay and creating chances of their own. Spurs were finally able to break down Derby's defense to take the lead through Robbie Keane in the 68th minute. Younes Kaboul doubled the lead in the 81st minute while Dimitar Berbatov completed the proceedings in the final minute of the match.

An entertaining first half saw both the teams create chances with Derby twice going close to taking the lead through Giles Barnes and Emmanuel Villa. At the other end, Roy Carroll was having a good home debut for Derby as he kept out shots from Darren Bent and Keane.

Derby continued to frustrate Tottenham in the second half and Juande Ramos introduced Berbatov into the attack, replacing an ineffective Darren Bent. Keane went close to giving Spurs the lead when he hit the post from 20 yards out.

Spurs finally took the lead in the 58th minute when Carroll managed to parry Malbranque's shot but the rebound fell to Keane who made no mistake from close range. Spurs began to take control of the game and Carroll had to be at his best to deny Jenas and Berbatov.

However the visitors doubled the lead nine minutes from full time when substitute Kaboul raced past Stephen Pearson before slotting the ball into the next. With time running out, Berbatov put the finishing touches to a brilliant second half performance by scoring from the penalty spot after Stubbs was adjudged to have handled the ball inside the area.