Tag Archives: Chris Martin

10th January – Resilient Rams topple the Tractor Boys and move up to 2nd

10 Saturday Jan 2015

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10th January 2015

Ipswich Town               0                 Derby County    1

                                                            Chris Martin 57

                                                            John Eustace sent off 90

A committed and impressive performance saw the Rams win this crucial Championship match against Ipswich Town, replacing the home team in 2nd place and inflicting upon the Tractor Boys their first defeat in twelve matches.

This felt like a vital and possibly pivotal game in the build up and so it may well prove.

Ipswich were two points ahead of the Rams at kick off. The statement we made in winning at Portman Road sends a message out about our intentions for the rest of the season and was very encouraging following the defeats against Middlesbrough and Leeds United in away games before Christmas.

Being involved in yet another lunch time kick off meant that we could sit back and enjoy the afternoon results which pretty much all fell in our favour as Bournemouth lost for the first time since we beat them in September, Middlesbrough drew and Watford lost making our win even more valuable.

The Rams were unchanged from the last league game, the 2-0 win over Leeds United with Darren Bent taking the place of the now returned to Blackburn Leon Best on the bench.

There were few chances in the whole game but Derby started nervously and presented Ipswich with an opportunity within five minutes as the offside trap broke down but fortunately, for us, Jay Tabb missed.

Our first hint of a chance came on the quarter hour as Jeff Hendrick had a shot blocked and Cyrus Christie fired over. A few minutes later Johnny Russell came close with a free kick he had himself won through his own efforts.

The game settled down after the early nervousness and the Rams showed admirable composure and control for much of the rest of the match with the back four well lead and marshalled by Richard Keogh and Craig Forsyth also having a good game. Cyrus Christie struggled at times though and was put under some pressure defensively.

John Eustace received an early yellow card but continued to discharge his defensive duties well and his presence in the team has a good balancing effect on our midfield with Will Hughes particularly having a good game influencing our play and prompting creatively.

Eustace got away with a sly barge on David McGoldrick just before the break however, which if the referee had seen otherwise might have lead to big trouble for the veteran midfielder and us. McGoldrick was booked for his responding foul and the half soon came to an end with Mick McCarthy doing his usual angry bullying act towards the officials as they left the pitch.

Having seen McCarthy pull off this trick before there were a few murmurs of concern about whether Ipswich would subsequently get every decision in the second half, but due credit to referee Kevin Wright who had a good game, including not awarding a penalty to Ipswich when the ball struck Keogh on the chest early in the second half despite howls of protest from the home players and crowd.

Shortly afterwards came the key moment of the game, Cyrus Christie cleared the ball and Ipswich centre half Tommy Smith misjudged the ball allowing Chris Martin to nip in and clinically put away his 18th goal of the season, and also the 100th goal of his career in his 303rd game. (Interesting to note that in the last season and a half our number 9 has scored 43 goals in 82 games underlining his importance to us yet again)

After our goal we continued on the front foot and carved out a number of half chances. Jordan Ibe worked hard and showed a pleasing appetite for tracking back and Johnny Russell gave his all as ever for the cause.

Despite the high stakes involved Ipswich never really upped the ante and threatened after we scored. Inevitably as the clock wore down there was an element of increased pressure on our goal but few if any clear chances were carved out and Lee Grant was calm and in control of his area.

This reflects well on the professional job that we did in winning this game, Steve McClaren spoke after the game of our “maturity” in seeing the game out and that seemed spot on.

Because of a clash of heads that took Jeff Hendrick out of the game we had 6 minutes of injury time to navigate and navigate with ten men after John Eustace received his marching orders for pulling back McGoldrick as he threatened to break clear. But the 6 minutes passed without further alarm and an important away win was banked.

As well as all the positive points already mentioned it is great to see the return of the clean sheets that so underpinned our best run earlier in the season – today was our fourth in a row and is another reason to be optimistic as we prepare to face the noisy neighbours in a week.

 

 

 

3rd January – Subs sink valiant Southport as Rams leave it late

04 Sunday Jan 2015

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3rd January 2015

Derby County               1                                        Southport            0   

 Chris Martin (pen) 90+2  

A much changed Rams side struggled to put away a well organised and committed Southport side in this third round FA Cup tie but, as good teams do, eventually found a way and went through thanks to Chris Martin’s cool conversion of a late late penalty.

Easier to say which players remained from the team that eased past Leeds United – those being only Richard Keogh and Jake Buxton.

Otherwise in came Kelle Roos, Ryan Shotton ( at right back ) , Lee Naylor, Omar Mascarell, Craig Bryson, Paul Coutts, Jamie Ward (a welcome return from a lengthy injury), Simon Dawkins and, most surprisingly, Leon Best.

The arrival this week of Darren Bent on loan was taken by many as a signal that Best’s disappointing time at the Rams was coming to an end. It may still be coming to an end listening to Steve McClaren’s comments after the game (more on post match interviews later) but it was still a surprise to see him start today.

The Rams dominated possession as would be expected against a team from three divisions down but Southport never made it easy for us, were well organised and committed.

We struggled with the final killer touch but having said that, in the first half Craig Bryson hit the post ; from the rebound Leon Best missed (at which point I instinctively thought “Bent would have scored that”) Ryan Shotton missed the target with a free header and Southport keeper David Raya Martin made a fine save from a long range Paul Coutts strike.

As well as the Rams lack of killer instinct in front of goal the outstanding performance of the Sandgrounders on loan keeper was instrumental in almost winning them a replay. Raya Martin continued in the same vein in the second half saving a Jake Buxton header, another Craig Bryson goal bound effort and managing to intercept, block and catch any number of crosses into his area.

Of those Rams that had an opportunity to shine in this game few can be happy with how the game played out. Craig Bryson was busy and flickered around the penalty area and it was great to see Jamie Ward back who looked threatening at times but also a little rusty which was only to be expected.

Leon Best’s game summed up his loan spell with us, disappointing on the fringes of play and he did not take his one clear chance. Simon Dawkins’ quick feet got him into some good positions but he either neglected to shoot or was unable to play a telling pass.

Lee Naylor worked hard and was did all that was asked of him defensively but showed that he will never be a threat to Craig Forsyth as he misplaced too many passes when going forward.

The triple substitution that we made on the hour was illustrative of our frustration at the game still being goalless. On came Chris Martin, Johnny Russell and Jordan Ibe, three players I am sure that Steve McClaren would have preferred to have sat this one out.

They replaced Leon Best, Jamie Ward and Ryan Shotton in what was a change to a 4-2-4 / 4-4-2 formation with Paul Coutts dropping back into defence.

It was interesting to see Johnny Russell playing up top in a more central role and perhaps it was a glimpse of future plans and maybe even the Plan B often wished for when things are not going our way.

It was a combination of the substitutes that won it for us, Jordan Ibe looking lively and dangerous played a good ball into Johnny Russell in the area and as he turned and ran he was fouled by Luke Foster. With almost the last kick of the game Chris Martin put away his 17th goal of the season.

Southport deserved the applause they received from the Rams fans at the close of the game for their approach and their performance & they deserved a replay.

It was a cruel way for them to lose but credit to a Derby team that kept going and the win was the most important part of this game avoiding the extra game a replay would have required or the embarrassment of being a killed giant.

Much continued discussion and debate after the game, both in person and on social media over Steve McClaren’s intentions.

In the post match interview he again used the phrase “Pure speculation” when asked what his response would be to an approach from Newcastle United about their Head Coach vacancy.

He did also say that “I want to finish the job here” so there was something for everyone there whatever their point of view.

 It says something for the responsiveness of our club that later on Saturday night Sam Rush was giving interviews stating that our manager was “going nowhere” and that Steve McClaren had reiterated his commitment to the club.

 Whatever went on – and I do believe that something was going on – it is to be hoped this distraction from trying to win promotion is now dealt with and all we need to focus on is what happens on the pitch – starting with the huge clash at Portman Road against 2nd place Ipswich Town on Saturday

 

20th December – Martin on song but below par Rams let it slip against Canaries

20 Saturday Dec 2014

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20th December

Derby County               2                                        Norwich City    2  

 Johnny Russell 43                                                    Cameron Jerome 51 

Chris Martin (pen) 55                                               Steven Whittaker 89

This was an uneasy and uncomfortable performance from the Rams, ill fitting to the festive period as we gathered for another lunchtime kick off hoping for an early Christmas present of 3pts.

Not even the pre match appearance of the Jim Smith era stalwarts Darren Powell & Jacob Laursen settled the game, though it did remind me of the admirable Dane belting a free kick past Peter Schmeichel at the Baseball Ground back in the day.

Three changes for the Rams as Ryan Shotton replaced the suspended Jake Buxton, Jordan Ibe replaced Simon Dawkins and, to some surprise, Jeff Hendrick replaced Will Hughes.

Any concerns about the structure of our midfield were muted after the game, not because anyone had played well, more that everyone had had a go and underwhelmed.

We were under par throughout this game, never in control even when leading and would have been fortunate to have won it in all honesty.

Norwich looked one of the better, if not the best team, to visit us this season – run a very close second by Bournemouth, but our performance contributed to the edginess around the ground as the game unfolded.

Thank goodness for Chris Martin and Johnny Russell who both had good games today. Martin was very good in fact.

We played more direct balls from Lee Grant; a little bit less of playing it out from the back, and our number 9 did an excellent job of accepting the ball and bringing others into play.

The move for our first goal was a prime example of this.

Martin superbly took down a Grant pass turned and moved into the area, laying off to Russell who very quickly sorted his feet out to stab the ball past John Ruddy before he could set himself.

JR has had an excellent run in the team, is scoring goals and endears himself to us fans by his sheer hard work, will to win and passion. His roar of joy at scoring today was replicated in the stands and he is very much “Super Johnny Russell”

The timing of any appearance on the sidelines by Steve McClaren is taken to be a reliable indicator of his happiness so when he appeared during the first half my eyes flicked to the big screen clock.

 22 minutes….not good then. The Boss was more vocal than I have ever seen him on the sidelines, giving very direct and precise instruction to a number of players, particularly Jeff Hendrick, and often turning away in exasperation as moves broke down or faltered.

To go in 1-0 up was a bonus, particularly as the referee had ruled out a Norwich goal before we scored owing to Cameron Jerome dummying a move to the goal bound shot in an offside position. It felt like a reprieve.

Will Hughes replaced Jeff Hendrick at the half, presumably owing to injury, but as happens too regularly we conceded early as our left flank was exposed allowing a cross to travel across our area which Cameron Jerome (onside this time) put away.

In our best phase of the game we hit back immediately though and Chris Martin won a penalty against his former team mates by drawing a foul from Carlos Cuellar and confidently put it away for his 15th goal of the season.

After our second goal we looked like we might not only hold onto the lead but extend it without ever actually carving out a decent chance and as the clock ticked beyond the hour Norwich stepped up the possession and pressure.

To almost make it to the end of the game before conceding is disappointing but it was hardly unexpected when Steven Whittaker fired across the penalty area after a corner and the ball pinged in off the far post.

It could have been even worse as Jerome fired a decent chance over after Norwich equalised, and the confident and secure defence that kept those six clean sheets in a row earlier in the season seems long gone.

Craig Forsyth has lost his attacking verve as well as his defensive confidence and our left flank was certainly targeted by Norwich leading to the Rams swapping Johnny Russell over to the left to provide Forsyth with more protection, but arguably restricting his attacking input also.

What to say about our midfield? – It did not influence the game today. In his position we need to see Omar Mascarell direct play more, or break up the opposition play more and he did not achieve either today. It is a lot to ask of a young player in his first season in English football but our set up and formation demands a lot of that position and it is a pivot to our success.

So fifth at Christmas with a Boxing Day visit to Gary Rowett’s resurgent Birmingham City to come. What do we want from Santa Claus Rams fans? A fit and firing George Thorne??

 

6th December – Stroll in Pride Park for Rams against Sami’s sickly Seagulls

07 Sunday Dec 2014

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6th December – Stroll in Pride Park for Rams against Sami’s sickly Seagulls

Derby County               3       Brighton & Hove Albion         0

Chris Martin 10, 20

Johnny Russell 15

The last time these two teams played each other must have seemed a different world away for the thousand or so Seagulls fans that travelled north and roosted in the top of the south east corner.

The last time, of course, Sunday – 11th May 2014, tension in the air as the south coast team tried to overturn a 1-2 first leg deficit in an attempt to reach Wembley at our expense.

That game ended in a three goal win for the Rams, just as this game did, but the Seagulls look a shadow of that team of last year, denuded of manager and key players and, apparently, any confidence and verve they may have had. One win in sixteen games must do that to you though.

Three changes for the Rams from the disappointing loss at Leeds with Bucko-baur replacing injured skipper Richard Keogh and also taking over the armband while Craig Bryson & Simon Dawkins replaced Will Hughes & Jordan Ibe.

Strange to see Darren Bent in the Brighton line up, a premier league reputation on the pitch but he had little opportunity, save from scoring from an offside position with the score at 2-0, to prove his worth, most often operating in lonely isolation against Ryan Shotton & Bucko.

Strange also not to see Craig Mackail-Smith in opposition, strange and good as he is always a nuisance to play against. Despite three goals for the Seagulls this season he is now to be found back at Peterborough on loan.

Felt like ages since our last home game, that joyful 5-0 romp against the Wolves that took us top and while I was idly waiting for the pre-match activities to wrap up one of the songs being played on the stadium tannoy caught my ear.

Kudos to whoever chose “Sheep” by the Housemartins as a pre match track – took me back nearly thirty years and made me smile. I quite liked the relevance of the chorus (with a change to one word);

 “It’s sheep YOU’RE up against…….

Not quite the meaning that Paul Heaton had in mind when he wrote it, but even so…

We came out of the blocks firing for this game and it had the feel of an attack vs. defence training exercise for the first 20 minutes. The Rams were energetic, pinning the away team in their own half and attacking with threat.

Within those 20 minutes we were 3-0 up and the game was pretty much won. A neat composed finish from Chris Martin within the penalty area and a strong header home from the same player from a superb Cyrus Christie cross came either side of the peach of the three goals.

Martin and Dawkins combined, laying the ball off to Craig Forsyth who played a beautiful incisive pass into the area cutting apart the Brighton back line to find Johnny Russell who dinked the ball over the advancing David Stockdale.

3-0 after 20 minutes and I thought we might be in for an avalanche of goals, certainly Brighton looked ragged and short of ideas, but we eased off at that point and allowed the Seagulls to get a greater foothold into the game for the remainder of the half. The tactical switch on their part to bring on Rohan Ince before the half hour gave them more of a physical presence in midfield and the fact that both Cyrus Christie and Craig Forsyth had yellow cards by the break illustrated we did not have it completely all our own way.

We controlled the second half without ever reaching the heights of those first 20 minutes. More goals could have come though with Stockdale saving well from Jeff Hendrick, fumbling a Craig Bryson shot onto the post and Jordan Ibe flashing a shot narrowly wide after he came on.

Lee Grant was untroubled throughout and at one point in the second half sold Darren Bent a dummy as he dribbled a troublesome back pass out of his area, primarily to stave off boredom probably.

Craig Bryson was energetic throughout and always a problem for Brighton and Johnny Russell continued his campaign to be the ultimate team player covering every blade of grass, harrying his opponents as well as scoring and creating for his team mates.

It was good to see Jamie Ward make an appearance from the bench following injury showing his usual bite and snap though there still feels something not quite right about our defence, not that it mattered here, but there is a sense of vulnerability about us at the back that other teams may exploit.

The importance of the win was illustrated afterwards when we saw that Ipswich, Bournemouth and Middlesboro had all won.

We’re still top, it is a fierce fight, but we have the stomach for it, it seems.

 

 

 

1st November – That sinking feeling as Bees sting Rams at the last

02 Sunday Nov 2014

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1st November 

Brentford   2                                    Derby County      1 

Andre Gray 49                                  Chris Martin 27

Stuart Dallas 90+3

The log jam nature of the Championship was evidenced again as the Rams slipped from top of the league to 5th place owing to this defeat at the hands of Brentford that was capped off by a late late winner from Stuart Dallas.

 For the second league game in succession the Rams went in at half time 1-0 up and ended up losing the game – maybe it is a Uwe Rosler thing as this occurred against his current and former teams – hopefully so as we will now have got this bad habit out of our system until the reverse matches – but there does appear to be a falling away of performance and application across these two games.

Ifs ands and maybes serve no benefit but it is hard to ignore the fact that if, for instance, we had gained 4pts from those two half time positions we would still be top tonight with a lead of 3pts over third place.

The Rams started well in this game, passing the ball around fluently and creating half chances and indeed chances the best of which Simon Dawkins was not able to put away.

A characteristic finish by Chris Martin from an excellent Craig Forsyth cross just before the half hour put us 1-0 up and continues our Number 9’s golden run of form that has produced 12 goals so far this season and 8 goals in his last 8 games.

It is not difficult to see how important he is to us not only from his goal scoring contribution but also what he adds to the build up play and attack.

It is interesting to look at Chris Martin’s career stats before and after last season (2013-14)

Prior to August 2013 he had scored 57 goals in 221games (a goal in every four games roughly) but since the start of last season he has scored 37 goals in 72 games (better than a goal in every two games) a significant upturn in scoring rate and one that certainly puzzles a Swindon Town supporting work colleague of mine who saw him on loan at that club two years ago.

As has been the case in a few games now the Rams tempo went off the boil and allowed the opposition a way back into a game we really should have closed out if we want to live up to ambitions of a top two finish.

Brentford hit Derby on the break as the half was barely five minutes old Andre Grey looping a shot into Jack Butland’s goal and the rest of the half was one that fell into a pattern of even possession without either side really carving out any meaningful chances.

Steve McClaren shuffled the pack in a predictable fashion with Will Hughes replacing Craig Bryson and Jordan Ibe replacing Simon Dawkins, and a little more surprisingly removing Johnny Russell from the fray with Paul Coutts taking his place.

Will Hughes’ presence had an immediate impact and we did look more threatening with him co-ordinating play.

  1. Being wise after the event is the easiest job in the world but why he and also John Eustace did not start is a pertinent question. It was a question, though, that was not particularly welcomed in the after match interview on Radio Derby as we got our first appearance from grumpy Steve McClaren this season in response to Owen Bradley’s reasonable queries.The last ten minutes of the match became more fractious with yellow cards flying around and tempers fraying. The Rams carved out a couple of half chances that never really developed but were not able to hold onto what would have been a decent point as Dallas struck a cross that had made its way across the Rams box first time and it flew into the net. Two home games now before the international break and there is a sense of unease around about our performances in the last two league games. Two confident performances and six points from those home games would give a boost to us all but Huddersfield fresh from their 3-0 win over Forest and Wolves having an excellent season following promotion will be a test for us.

     

     

     

18th October – Reading the runes on another 3pts

28 Tuesday Oct 2014

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18th October 2014

 Reading 0                                 Derby County 3

                                                 Chris Martin 18 & 79

                                                 Jordan Ibe 38

 Experience tells us that a trip to play Reading at the Madjeski Stadium is rarely a pleasant experience – our last seven visits have ended as follows

D 0-0

D 2-2

L 1-2

L 1-4

L 0-3

L 0-1

L 0-5

Indeed, previous to this game we had won only 9 of our total 36 games against the Royals so to come away from one of our more bogier of bogey grounds as we did today with 3 points in a 3-0 win is particularly pleasing.

The season continues to develop well – now unbeaten in 11 games since that 2-3 defeat to Charlton this win saw us move up into second place in the table and try out one of the automatic promotion places for comfort….it feels just our size don’t you think ?

Indeed, after Chris Martin put us into the lead early on with a rare headed goal for the Rams, one of such untroubled simplicity as he escaped some non existent marking that it would have had us raging with frustration had we conceded it, the Rams sat at the top of the table for approximately four minutes until Watford took the lead at Hillsborough and took top spot.

I was so tempted to take a screen shot of that league table but it really doesn’t matter after eleven and a quarter games does it ?

This was a good away performance that yet again underlined the importance of Chris Martin to our team moving, as he did, onto 9 goals for the season with his brace. A couple of other decent chances were also spurned by him but although Lee Grant was kept busy and Pavel Pogrebnyak really should have scored to pull the score back to 1-2 (which could have seen the jitters that were starting to show really go into overdrive) our ability to put away our chances, and Jordan Ibe’s goal was a lovely piece of skill it should be noted, helped keep the underpowered Royals at arm’s length throughout.

A feature of this season has been our improving defensive record and this game saw us keep a clean sheet for the fifth successive game an impressive achievement, particularly when the central defence has seen changing partnerships of ;

Keogh & Shotton vs Reading in the League Cup

Keogh & Whitbread vs Bolton

Keogh & Shotton vs Bournemouth

Keogh & Whitbread vs Millwall

Keogh & Whitbread then Shotton & Whitbread vs Reading today

Keogh’s departure with what seems to be a head injury would call into question his place in the side to play Blackpool on Tuesday but with Jake Buxton back on the bench and Jake Whitbread and Ryan Shotton having been part of the team this season we have available a depth of choice that has not always been the case in previous seasons – just what is needed if a promotion push is to become a reality.

It looks like Jamie Ward will be missing for sure against Blackpool and there are questions also about the fitness of Lee Grant after he took a knock late on and also Craig Bryson. The depth of choice in the squad at central defence is also visible in other positions though and it is good to see the Rams with a choice and depth of players.

More of the same against a Blackpool team fighting against the odds of sever under investment and bizarre ownership decisions (that takes us back doesn’t it ? ) on Tuesday night would be very welcomed

 

 

30th Sep 2014 – Rams overcome Cherries as referee does an Attwell

26 Sunday Oct 2014

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Rams overcome Cherries as referee does an Attwell

30th September 2014

Derby County 2                                                    AFC Bournemouth 0

Will Hughes 81                                                    Sent Off – Lee Camp 67

Chris Martin 90

 Derby overcame a well organised Bournemouth team to climb up to 4th in the Championship at the iPro tonight only one point from the top of the table.

This game resembled last season’s match against the Cherries, a Tuesday night in February that saw the comfortable in possession visitors look like they were going to escape Derby with a point until Chris Martin lashed in a free kick with a few minutes to go to win the game.

The symmetry was almost complete in this game when Martin again stepped up to take a free kick from an very similar position in the second half only to see the ball hit the post with substitute keeper Darryl Flahavan beaten.

Why Flahavan was even on the pitch to admire Martin’s free kick is a mystery to all present apart from (presumably) referee Scott Mathieson who decided not to award a goal when the ball trundled into the Bournemouth net following an almighty collision between Jamie Ward, Lee Camp & a scrambling Cherries defender.

Our man in the middle instead decided to send off Camp for…….well; I’m really not sure whether it was deliberate handball or denying a goal scoring opportunity. Considering that the ball ended up in the net the denying a GSO seems daft, no matter the joy to be had in seeing Lee Camp’s sulky mug being red carded.

Bemusement was further increased by the fact that I, and many others around me, distinctly remember the ref pointing to the centre circle as the ball nestled in the net. So much for referees not changing their minds…..

In the five minutes of arm waving and head scratching that ensued on the pitch after the players realised that, contrary to overwhelming evidence, we had not in fact scored, I remembered Stuart Attwell….and that is never a good thing.

I was surprised to see Eddie Howe hook Calum Wilson to bring on Flahavan as Wilson would have continued to be a nuisance up front even with ten men; but the Cherries seemed to settle for trying to see out the last 20 minutes with everyone behind the ball, surrendering possession to us.

We should be getting quite used to this tactic from opponents, even with 11 men on the pitch, & there was a little frustration from some of those around me as we Arse-lona’d the ball around the penalty area in precise patterns of short passing looking for an opportunity

“Shoot…..just bloody shoot! “

Being one plaintive cry to be heard, but patience told as Will Hughes, who had an excellent game, picked up the ball in a packed penalty area and created enough space for a shot that found the net.

26,000 sighs of relief and even though Bournemouth changed tack and threw players forward to try and save a point we coped without (too many) worries wrapping things up nicely when Johnny Russell added to his growing list of goal assists by picking up a long ball on the left and racing on to clip the ball across the six yard line for Chris Martin to finish.

Craig Bryson was in full on perpetual motion mode buzzing about for the whole 90 minutes and some of Jamie Ward’s best work was to be found near our penalty area, particularly when he chased a break back and made the crucial tackle. Richard Keogh & Ryan Shotton had the odd stressful moment at the back but I can see the Stoke loanee playing an increasingly important role for us as the season progresses.

Cyrus Christie continues to look good on the right; sometimes our most potent attacking threat, his first goal cannot be far away, and it was really good to see Jeff Hendrick back too.

One year on from Derby County 4 Ipswich Town 4 the season is coming on very nicely….