The equaliser always threatened to come - and when it did arrive it lifted the shackles off the Rams and allowed them to go on and play some fine football.

That was the verdict of Nathan Ellington after his hat-trick earned Derby a place in the second round of the Carling Cup at the expense of Lincoln City.

His first was a scrappy equaliser with seven minutes left but the Duke's extra-time brace showed lots of class and were a deserved reward for the team's efforts.

"I think last season and not winning a game for so long probably was playing on people's minds even though this is a new season, a new division and we have lots of new players," Ellington told www.dcfc.co.uk.

"It did get into us a bit but once we got the goal to equalise we felt the shackles come off and we were able to play our football.

"We showed that and played some good stuff so hopefully that can continue now."

Ellington was always confident that he could score goals in a Derby shirt - and under the guidance of Paul Jewell again - and a hat-trick in your second game is never a bad way to start your career at a new club.

"It was nice to get off the mark, definitely, and to score three again at Pride Park is good," he admitted, in a nod to his 2002 treble for Bristol Rovers that shot him to national attention.

"My first one was scrappy - I was standing in line with the defender, in case Andrejs hit a bad shot, which he did and thankfully it came to me - and my others were good strikes.

"After the first goal I think we played a lot more football and things opened up, which made it easier for me to get my chances.

"I always knew that if I got the chances I would score the goals and tonight I did that."