STEVE Davies put last week's injury scare behind him to give Derby County a 2-0 victory over Yeovil Town at Huish Park last night.

Davies scored twice after coming off the bench as the Rams won the opening game of their three-match tour of the south-west.

His first goal was a coolly-taken penalty on 74 minutes and his second a thumping header 10 minutes from time.

The 21-year-old missed the final eight fixtures of last season after breaking his foot and recently felt some discomfort in the same foot.

But to the relief of both Davies and Derby, there was no damage.

He played in Monday's win at Belper Town and was the match-winner against League One Yeovil.

But Derby had goalkeeper Stephen Bywater to thank.

He made a fine save to keep out Sam Williams' penalty early in the second half when the contest was goalless.

The Rams were without the injured Rob Hulse, Kris Commons and Dean Leacock but Mark Randall started.

The 19-year-old Arsenal midfielder has joined the Rams on their tour of south-west with a view to a possible long-term loan.

He lined up in a central midfield trio with Robbie Savage and Stephen Pearson as manager Nigel Clough continued to experiment with a 4-3-3 shape.

Chris Porter and Paul Green watched from the stand, and Luke Varney was the focal point of the attack.

New signing Shaun Barker produced a edgy display when he came off the bench for his first appearance in a Rams shirt at Chesterfield on Saturday. This time he was in from the start and partnered Miles Addison in the centre of defence.

Barker's first contribution was not impressive as he lifted the ball over the stand.

Yeovil's Keiran Murtagh copied Barker when he fired a hopeful shot out of the ground. With three minutes played, we were already on our third ball.

Derby's midfield triangle, with Savage the deepest of the trio, knocked the ball about confidently and Randall showed he is clearly comfortable in possession. His weight of pass caught the eye although he was reluctant to get forward as much as Green, whose position he was filling.

One lovely pass, rolled along a surface soaked by the day's rain, split Yeovil's defence but Varney did not make the most of the opportunity. His touch was heavy and then he was eased off the ball as Alex McCarthy came to gather.

Varney did much better a minute later when his low shot was heading in until McCarthy, on loan from Reading, pushed the ball away.

Three strong pieces of defending against Gavin Tomlin showed what Barker can do and probably helped him to settle. He improved as the first half progressed.

Varney hooked an effort wide, Gary Teale's low shot was held by McCarthy, who also collected an attempted lob by Randall, but Derby needed Bywater to be alert on 19 minutes.

He was forced to go full stretch to parry Murtagh's firmly-struck drive.

Derby threatened at times in the opening 45 minutes only to be let down by the final pass or cross.

When they got into good positions to cross, the centres lacked accuracy. The delivery from Teale and Lee Croft was either too short or over-hit.

Although Varney battled gamely, the height and ability in the air of Hulse and Porter is missed when they are not available, as is the cleverness of Commons.

Some of Yeovil's approach play impressed but too often for the home supporters there was no end product.

They saw their team waste a golden opportunity to go ahead four minutes after the break.

Williams went down in the area after being caught by an innocuous challenge from Jay McEveley. The Yeovil striker picked himself but his right-footed penalty was saved by Bywater diving to his right.

Dean Moxey came on after an hour at left-back, while Davies replaced Teale on 64 minutes. And 10 minutes later Davies put Derby ahead from the penalty spot.

Croft's cross struck the hand of Danny Hutchins and the linesman flagged for a penalty. Davies stepped up and sent McCarthy the wrong way.

Varney's fine volley on the turn beat McCarthy and rebounded off a post before Derby doubled their lead on 80 minutes.

Ben Pringle came on and added some energy to the performance. He swung over an inviting free kick and Davies showed great determination to power an unstoppable header past McCarthy.

Giles Barnes squandered a chance to make it three and at the other end, Bywater denied Gary Roberts.

Bywater was not over-worked but what he did, he did very well in a useful work-out for the Rams with the Championship campaign less than three weeks away.

Their performance was a bit laboured at times but when they stepped it up a notch or two, they looked better and did enough to win the game.