Albion no.2 Eddie Newton hailed the impact of super subs James Morrison and Simon Cox as the Baggies battled back from a goal down to move back into the automatic promotion places.
After enjoying the majority of possession in an uneventful first half, Albion were behind four minutes after the break when Chris Porter slotted home after confusion in the Baggies’ defence.
However the introduction of Simon Cox and James Morrison in the 59th minute swung the game in Albion’s favour. Chris Brunt levelled the scores eight minutes later following a Simon Cox through ball with the winger poking Albion ahead in the 77th minute. Simon Cox then completed the comeback in the 83rd minute following James Morrison’s chipped pass to send the Baggies back into second place.
"We saw Derby's levels start to drop off in the latter stages of the game and we knew if we could keep going for 90 minutes we would create chances," said Newton.
"We also knew we had the ability of bringing people on of real quality like Coxy and Mozza, who are able to create something or get on the end of something.
"When we were behind, I was quite confident we could at least create something.
"Having a weekend like this, where we've won and Nottingham Forest have lost, helps with the spirit in the dressing room.
"We know it's going to be a hard slog until the end of the season.
"Everyone's either fighting for promotion, to stay away from relegation or pushing for the play-offs.
"There is no easy game left."
Newton continued: It's about how you utilise your squad.
"If you keep flogging your boys until they've got nothing left, you will get punished.
"It's very important we utilise our squad to the best of our ability.
"It's not always the case we can do that.
"Sometimes, you have to play players who are exhausted.
"But we try our best with the resources we've got and now it's the main push until the end of the season.
"It's all about winning now and putting three points on the table.
"We need to try and get away from Forest and keep putting pressure on Newcastle.
"That's all that matters to me.
"Yes, we like to have a good performance and the right result at the end of the day.
"But if we don't have a good performance but the right result, that's fine by me!
"Yes, we've got some experience in our side but it's mainly a young side - and they've been doing fantastic.
"We just need to keep a lid on it, take one game at a time and keep concentrating.
"That's all we can do.
"It's in our hands."