Derby County have maintained their two-point lead at the top of the Championship table courtesy of a 2-0 victory over Charlton Athletic at the iPro Stadium.

Both goals came in the first half for the Rams as they extended their unbeaten streak in the league to seven matches, while Charlton's two-game winning run comes to an end.

The hosts took just nine minutes to break the deadlock in front of their own fans as Will Hughes and Darren Bent combined to set up Jeff Hendrick, who finished the move from close range.

Tom Ince came close to adding another goal to his impressive start at the club shortly afterwards, curling a 20-yard effort narrowly past the post.

The second was not long coming for the league leaders, however, with Hendrick turning provider to send Jesse Lingard through on goal, and the Manchester United loanee made no mistake with the finish on his full debut for the Rams.

Hughes looked to get amongst the scorers as Derby continued to control the match, but the midfielder's curling effort flew just wide of the upright.

Charlton did muster some sort of response in the closing stages of the half, with Chris Solly and Johann Berg Gudmundsson both drawing saves from Lee Grant, but the hosts went into the break with a two-goal cushion.

The second half was a relatively low-key affair as Derby protected their lead, with chances few and far between for either side.

Hendrick's deflected effort was about as close as either team came, with Derby running out comfortable victors in the end.