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7th February – Ince & Hendrick to the fore and Hughes shines as Rams win again

09 Monday Feb 2015

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7th February

 

Derby County                 4         Thomas Ince 39, 47  Jeff Hendrick 45, 68    

Bolton Wanderers         1           Filip Twardzik 51                  

Watching this Derby team when it clicks is a joy and our Rams definitely clicked in this 4-1 win over a Bolton team that had just taken Liverpool to the last minutes of a replayed FA Cup tie.

This was indeed a joyous game to watch as the Rams exhibited the slick passing interplay that is our trademark in front of a 30,000 + crowd who were loud and raucous in support of the team.

The South Stand was in fine voice and for the first time in a long time (perhaps Brighton in the play-off, perhaps the Forest 5-0 last season) all of the stands of the iPro chipped in with a song or two which made for a superb atmosphere which was noted by a number of magnanimous Bolton fans on social media afterwards. (The comments included – intimidating atmosphere, great team, top manager)

The headlines after this win inevitably focused on debut maker Tom Ince, who scored twice and so nearly crowned his first game since joining us form Hull on loan on deadline day with a hat-trick, the historic hat-trick being missed by a whisker as his shot cannoned back off the post with keeper Andy Lonergan beaten.

As well as the goals our new wide man showed energy and invention throughout, noticeably giving us different options as his runs were both central and wide and also tracking back with diligence. A positive and eloquent interview afterwards expressing his desire to make a mark at Derby rounded off a great start for the former Blackpool and Liverpool player who undoubtedly has a touch of class about his play.

Ince junior’s name may have headed all of the reports but Will Hughes’ performance deserved just as many plaudits. Yet again our midfield playmaker was at the heart of everything that was good about us despite Bolton’s attempts to starve him of both space and time which, in the first 25 minutes or so, had some success.

As the game went on however our midfield asserted itself and the visitors, managed by football’s angriest man, Neil Lennon, found it increasingly difficult to resist our moves in and around their area.

Three goals in the space of eight minutes over the half time break sealed the three points for the Rams. After a number of moves failed on the last pass or movement just as they looked like they were going to lead to a goal Chris Martin won the Rams a free kick just outside of the penalty area. There were a few nudges and nods in our part of the ground when Tom Ince placed the ball very deliberately for the free kick but they were soon forgotten as he arrowed a tremendous left footed free kick into the top corner to give us the lead.

Six minutes later and just before the break we were two up after a superb move involving Chris Martin and Will Hughes freed Jeff Hendrick in the area who, after a drop of the shoulder to lose Bolton’s Josh Vela, fired home.

Hendrick was another of our players who had a superb game, one of his best for weeks, always buzzing around and a threat as we moved forward and while we are listing positives Omar Mascarell had another good game anchoring the midfield and breaking up Bolton’s moves.

Another sweet passing move just after the break involving Hendrick, Martin and Hughes saw Hughes playing in Ince on the right hand side of the area for the debutant to fire home and make it 3-0.

A bit of Rams sleepiness at a free kick allowed Filip Twardzik to head home and spoil the clean sheet but there was never a real prospect of Bolton dragging us back. Jamie Ward was foiled by a fine Lonergan save before the game was put away by Jeff Hendrick’s second of the game – and his seventh of an increasingly productive season – after Jake Buxton won a towering back post header from an Omar Mascarell free kick.

Another important three points banked and another game ticked off.

Tuesday sees us visit the leaders Bournemouth on the south coast for a top two clash.

The Rams are in good shape for this crucial game having recovered from the set backs of the Forest loss, Johnny Russell’s injury and Jordan Ibe’s recall with remarkable resilience…..COYR

27th January – Rams up to 2nd as Bent double downs Blackburn

28 Wednesday Jan 2015

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27th January

Derby County                         2                 Darren Bent 68, 90+2      

Blackburn Rovers                 0

This day may, in retrospect, turn out to be a pivotal one for the Rams in this important season.

Not only did we gather a crucial three points from this hard fought win over Blackburn to lift ourselves back up to 2nd, but George Thorne made his competitive comeback with 45 minutes for the U-21 side who thrashed Stoke City 7-1.

The continued return to fitness of the midfielder, who is so important to the way we play, is a boost to everyone involved with the club and while there is some way to go before he is orchestrating our play it is a relief to see him playing again after the crushing blow of that pre-season injury.

Compared to the team that started against Forest Ryan Shotton replaced Cyrus Christie, Simon Dawkins replaced the injured Johnny Russell and Jeff Hendrick replaced Craig Bryson.

After the experimentation against Chesterfield in the FA Cup it was back to plan A formation wise with the 4-3-3 facing up to Blackburn’s well organised and drilled two banks of four with Tom Cairney playing behind the nippy Josh King.

It was a surprise, though not a disappointment, to see Rovers lining up without either Jordan Rhodes or Rudy Gestede, both of them on the bench. Was this a bit of asset protection in advance of a sale by the Venky’s – difficult to say and unsuccessful, if so, as Gestede appeared before half time to replace the injured Tom Cairney but he himself had to be replaced when injured in the second half.

This was a gritty win for the Rams featuring some good performances from a number of players. Will Hughes was again excellent, always looking for the ball, always providing a threat with his skill and there were two particularly impressive examples of twinkle toed skill from him in the first half as he manoeuvred the ball away from defenders snapping around his heels.

Omar Mascarell had his best game of the season combining his usual ease on the ball with more bite and disruption of Blackburn’s play and looking the part as the defensive midfield pivot.

Richard Keogh was closer to his best than has been the case for a while, some excellent positioning and interceptions allied to a number of shuddering blocks with a few barnstorming charges forward thrown in for good measure. It has been suggested that he was benefitting from a more disciplined right back performance from Ryan Shotton and I think there is merit in that. Shotts was composed on his return to the team and exhibited more positional awareness than Cyrus Christie has done in recent games. And that long throw of his is quite an option for us.

We held the ball well in the first half without ever really carving out a clear chance. The good work of that first half was nearly lost when a misplaced pass from Jeff Hendrick just before the break almost led to a goal with Josh King, fortunately, blazing over.

While never in the brutal class of the Mark Hughes era Blackeye Rovers this generation of Rovers were physical and, more than any team I have seen for a while, looked to hit the long ball to try and exploit their pace up front.

The second half was proving to be more of the same, Jamie Ward and Simon Dawkins labouring on the flanks, both appearing to lack some sharpness and inevitably generating a few what might have beens were it not for the absence of Johnny Russell and Jordan Ibe.

The signing of Darren Bent, though, has given us another option and he had only been on the pitch for five minutes before bundling the ball into the net after another of Ryan Shotton’s long throws

The win was not seen out with ease. Blackburn threw Jordan Rhodes on and started launching the ball into our box and one superb tackle from Omar Mascarell and one even more superb save from Lee Grant were needed to keep us in front.

 It was good to see Mason Bennett appearing as a substitute late on and he was instrumental in the second goal that took the pressure off – breaking down the left wing and putting in an excellent cross for Chris Martin who saw his shot well saved by Jason Steele but there in the right place, at the right time was our new penalty area predator Darren Bent to put the game away.

 This was such an important three points against a good Championship side.

To be back up to second with 19 games to go means our fate is in our hands and if we can ensure that remains the case as the number of games dwindle away this season may yet have a very happy ending.

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??

 

16th December – Rams ask no Quarter but the cup run ends against Chelsea

17 Wednesday Dec 2014

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16th December

Derby County               1                     Chelsea               3

Craig Bryson 71                                     Eden Hazard 23                                          Jake Buxton sent off 78                        Felipe Luis  56                                                                Andre Schurrle 82

The Rams bowed out of the League Cup in the last eight after a spirited and skilful performance against an impressive Chelsea side.

The Premier League leaders showed their intent by fielding a strong side including ever popular captain John Terry, Cesc Fabregas, Nemanja Matic, Didier Drogba and, most damagingly for Derby, Eden Hazard.

For the Rams Jake Buxton replaced the suspended Ryan Shotton and Will Hughes was restored to the starting eleven replacing Jeff Hendrick.

A cagey start saw neither side create any meaningful chances, Derby being less keen to play out from the back at every opportunity as we tend to do in the Championship, probably a wise move with the likes of Hazard and Schurrle snapping away at our players.

This game was always going to be a good test of which of our players could cope with the demands of playing against a top Premier League team side and the performance should give us some cause for optimism.

I thought that Craig Bryson had an excellent game buzzing around with intent and causing problems for Chelsea as well as taking his goal very well. Similarly Will Hughes played well and as is par for the course Johnny Russell was tireless, chasing down, tracking back and also setting up our goal.

Omar Mascarell also played well and seemed much more at home than he sometimes does in the Championship perhaps reflecting the differing styles of those leagues and our opponents.

Also in the credit column for me was Jake Buxton who was strong, won a lot in the air and coped well with the challenges facing him right up until the wrong headed decision to send him off shortly after Craig Bryson’s goal had turned the noise in Pride Park up a notch or ten.

A ball over the top saw Bucko and Loic Remy, on for the injured Drogba, tussling as the ball skidded across the wet pitch, Bucko was clearly trying to shepherd the ball back to Lee Grant who duly came sliding out for the ball and, it seemed, possibly out of the area with the ball in hand.

At this point the linesman on the west side started waving his flag furiously ….Lee Grant clearly thought he was going to be dismissed, as did we, though being close to the linesman in question we were offering some words of wisdom to him in a sense of friendship and constructive criticism.

Confusion and anger greeted the subsequent waving of the red card in Bucko’s direction.

Denying a goal scoring opportunity? …really??

I am very confident that a similar situation in a, say, Chelsea vs. Manchester United game would not have resulted in a red card – we got the rough end of a Premier League vs. Championship decision there.

The momentum of our fight back was lost and it was no surprise to see Schurrle slot away a third goal shortly afterwards after Lee Grant saved well from Hazard.

 Eden Hazard was impressive throughout and a constant threat to us. After the good start it was frustrating to see Richard Keogh play the ball to Hazard on the edge of our area, a quick exchange of passes with Cesc Fabregas saw Hazard firing into the bottom corner to put Chelsea ahead.

Chelsea’s second goal led from another Premiership decision from the referee as willo-the-wisp Will Hughes brushed past Didier Drogba and sent the man mountain centre forward flying. From the subsequent free kick Felipe Luis belted the ball into the corner beyond the flying Grant.

Despite the scoreline we played well in this game and a similar level of performance will win most Championship games – and there in lies the challenge for Derby’s coaching staff – how to replicate this again and again.

A 30,000 crowd, a loud away contingent and a home crowd in boisterous and supportive voice gave an attractive indication of what it would be like to be back in the Premier League.

We saw a glimpse of what we are aiming at in this game and a reminder of the challenges that would await if we were successful but, personally, I can’t wait for us to be back in that top league.

 

29th November – Unlucky 13 for the Rams as Leeds knock us off our stride…but not top

30 Sunday Nov 2014

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Leeds United               2       Derby County      0

Mirco Antenucci 43,50

A very 1970’s fixture as the Rams travelled to Elland Road to take on Leeds United, a game that despite the passing of the years, still has a resonance for Rams and Leeds fans of a certain age (i.e. not spring chickens)

The Rams welcomed back fit again Lee Grant in goal in the only change to the starting eleven that won so importantly at Watford. Additionally an illness that kept Leon Best off the bench meant that the highly rated Kwame Thomas took his place.

As the game got underway Leeds seemed to be channelling their 1970’s cynical predecessors in the first five minutes as Chris Martin, Will Hughes and Craig Forsyth were all on the receiving end of fouls.

The Rams did start well though with Johnny Russell in particular looking in lively form but Leeds stepped up after ten minutes and put us under some pressure winning a couple of corners without creating any clear chances

Leeds continuing the aggressive approach they opened with had three players in the book by the half hour mark. The Rams were proving much more efficient, committing only one foul in the first 30 minutes but that also attracting a yellow for Cyrus Christie from referee Mick Russell much to the consternation of the Rams players.

We didn’t cope well with the hectic bustling game that Leeds were determined to create and Omar Mascarell particularly in the first half was struggling to get into the game and was added to the list of bookings when he hacked at a Leeds player.

A regular worry amongst Rams fans, and one repeated after this game is whether we have a weakness against teams that try to rough us up. We have so many skilful touch players but needed a bit more steel in this game to earn the right to play the skilful football we excel at.

Considering the position he plays in much of this kind of thought is expressed with young Omar in mind. He is clearly learning the English game rapidly coming on in leaps and bounds from the start of the season and it may well be that Steve McClaren sees the longer term benefit for us this season in allowing Mascarell to develop further in that crucial defensive midfielder role.

The loss of George Thorne to injury in pre season was a big loss for us and I think we sometimes forget that we are having a good season without, arguably, one of our most influential players of the back end of last season who showed how he could control a game as well as creating chances for us with his excellent passing. If he does end up playing at all for us this season that will be a big bonus.

Leeds won this game with goals either side of half time, their striker Mirco Antenucci being one of three unmarked Leeds players when the ball fell to his feet in the box on 43 minutes and half time optimism was extinguished with a kick in the guts early in the second half as Stephen Warnock’s gallop down the left and cut back from found an again unmarked Antenucci who put away his second of the game on 50 minutes

Derby had more of the ball after Leeds inevitably sat back after the second goal and particularly so after a triple substitution replacing Jordan Ibe, Johnny Russell and Omar Mascarell with Craig Bryson, Simon Dawkins and Kwame Thomas for his debut.

For all of the possession though we did not create a clear cut chance until 82 minutes when Bryson broke free the ball falling eventually to Kwame Thomas who fired over from close range.

This was a well below par Rams performance when despite having more than our share of possession we could not control the game and our precise and pacy passing was not to the fore. It looked like Richard Keogh picked up a hamstring injury towards the end of the game though no word as yet on that.

So our long glorious unbeaten run against Leeds comes to an end after 12 games. As the game ended we found that we were still top despite the result – mainly due to two late goals from Milwall at Bournemouth to peg back the Cherries from 2-0 to 2-2. Football eh?

8th November – Five star Rams rocket to the top of the League

08 Saturday Nov 2014

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Derby County      5                           Wolverhampton Wanderers 0

 Ryan Shotton 16                                                       

Jeff Hendrick 28 & 55

Johnny Russell 42 & 61

The rain poured down during this game but nothing could dampen the fireworks on the pitch or indeed the spirits of the Rams fans as Derby County romped to a 5-0 win against Wolves and ended the day on top of the Championship.

This was a terrific performance from the Rams, on top throughout, sharp and pacey, incisive and energetic and against a Wolves team, let us remember, that started the day in 6th place with a chance to go joint top had they won.

As Johnny Russell slotted in the fifth goal as the rain poured down it reminded me of something…

Mid day kick-off……game on Sky Sports…..rain bucketing down ….Rams win 5-0…when was the last time that happened….oh yes…March 22nd 2014 when we hammered the neighbours …happy days…

Back to the present and the Rams made one change to the team that beat Huddersfield on Tuesday with Simon Dawkins restored to the starting XI as Jordan Ibe missed out.

You can tell a lot by how we start a game – we came out of the blocks quickly for this game, looked energetic and up for it, and the forensic quick passing game that is so effective was working well.

A so far season’s best attendance of 30,398 (bolstered by a loud and good natured 2,700 from Wolves), was treated to three first half goals, Ryan Shotton getting ahead of his defender at a free kick to force home a header after 16 minutes, Jeff Hendrick accepted a the ball from Simon Dawkins in midfield, ran on and fired home from 20 yards on 28 minutes and Johnny Russell, freed from corner taking duties by the presence of Omar Mascarell loitered with intent on the edge of the penalty area for a corner on 42 minutes, controlled the loose ball, slalomed into the area and slotted home from 12 yards.

In the midst of a whole host of excellent performances Omar Mascarell caught the eye, being a regular and reliable presence in breaking up budding Wolves moves as well as orchestrating our attacks. He is looking more at home with each game played and if we are only just starting to see his potential we are in for some treats for the rest of the season.

Wolves had one good chance to score when the margin was still 1-0 , Sam Ricketts’ cut back finding George Saville unmarked near the penalty spot, his shot, though, was wide and little else that Wolves did troubled us while the game was still competitive.

A delicious move early in the second half saw Chris Martin and Will Hughes release Jeff Hendrick who made it 4-0 and then on the hour Johnny Russell connected with a characteristic Craig Forsyth cross across the box firing high into the net to make it 5-0 and also unveiling an acrobatic goal celebration in the process.

Johnny is rightly a favourite of the crowd, receiving yet another standing ovation when replaced by Ivan Calero today, his work rate is huge and his will to win obvious. It seems that the benefit of his starting in six successive games now is being reflected in his goal scoring with today’s two goals taking his tally to five for the season so far. If JR manages to hit 12-15 goals this season it will bode very well for us.

I treated a Wolves supporting friend to the game today though as the goals rattled in I think he would have objected to the term “treated”. When Jeff Hendrick’s first goal flew in he turned to me and said we were going to beat them 5-0. I shook my head doubtfully, partly out of not wishing to gloat….but how right he was.

The Championship table is looking good tonight and while it is annoying that the international break is upon us again just as we roll out such a good performance we have two blank weeks to admire the table at leisure.