The win kept the good form of the last three months going and it was a win merited by the performance. Aldershot Town FC haven't quite got round to installing a Cardiff-style roof on their ground yet so consequently the game was played with steady snowfall throughout.
A light covering on the pitch failed to hamper the young Chelsea team however as at times they stroked the ball across the turf as well as at any time all season.
It was Filipe Oliveira in his most productive evening for some time who did most damage with a brace of goals either side of one for centre-back Adrian Pettigrew.
Danny Hollands drew the first save after five minutes following some promising Chelsea attacking down the left. A good chance then went begging before the quarter-of-an-hour when Danny Woodards placed a firm header on a Sam Tillen corner but missed the target.
There was a short spell when Chelsea needed to resort to some last-ditch defending, Morais vitally cutting out a pass with the defence dangerously stretched and then Hollands hooking a corner off the line.
Hollands and Pettigrew were controlling much of the midfield but Chelsea were still looking for that first goal.
Top scorer Woodards can often be relied upon to come up with goods with his head but a good Chelsea move from one side of the pitch to the other ended with an aerial effort that was saved by Derby keeper Dean Brill. Within seconds Hollands also had a heading opportunity from an Oliveira cross as Derby struggled with the ball in the air but they weren't made to pay.
That succession of chances was on the half-hour and four minutes later Chelsea did produce the opener. Kneissl played a key part, providing a smart ball across the area to Oliveira in space who looked to have turned into trouble but kept his head and calmly rolled the ball in.
Three minutes before half-time Chelsea added the second. Adrian Pettigrew until last week had never scored in full-time football, either at youth or reserve level. Now he has two to his name, this one the result of his leap to back-flick a high ball in beyond Brill.
Just before half-time Derby could have pulled one back, a stretching David Cassidy failing to reach Ainsworth's low cross.
Jimmy Smith is probably still asking himself how he didn't add a third 15 minutes into the second-half, Kneissl beating the offside and serving him a chance on a plate in front of goal but his shot hit a covering defender.
That miss was rectified a minute later when Oliveira hammered in his second, Kneissl supplying the pass. The assist was the young German's final contribution having picked up a knock, Oliveira soon following him off the pitch for what looked like similar reasons.
There were two important pieces of defending from Pettigrew to add to his goal, one a sliding block on a shot from Brazilian Junior, the other when he hacked clear from under the crossbar after Cassidy had lifted the ball goalwards over Pidgeley.
Pidgeley was stranded once more when a long ball from the back floated beyond Nuno Morais but Junior lifted it over the Chelsea keeper and wide leaving Chelsea with a fourth clean sheet in five games.
Chelsea:
Lenny Pidgeley, Dean Smith, Nuno Morais, Adrian Pettigrew, Sam Tillen, Jimmy Smith (Michael Mancienne), Anthony Grant, Danny Hollands (Capt), Filipe Oliveira (Joe Tillen 67), Sebastian Kneissl (Filipe Morais 61), Danny Woodards.
Derby County:
Dean Brill, Nathan Doyle, Dan Martin, Chris Turner, Danny Young, Lewin Nyatanga, Lionel Ainsworth, Giles Barnes, Junior, David Cassidy, Marco Reich (Booth).
by Paul Mason
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