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Tag Archives: referee

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

17 Wednesday Dec 2014

Posted by petekobryn in League Cup

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Chelsea, Craig Bryson, Derby County Football Club, Eden Hazard, Jake Buxton, Johnny Russell, Omar Mascarell, Rams, referee, Will Hughes

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.

 

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

26 Sunday Oct 2014

Posted by petekobryn in Championship

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3pts, Chris Martin, Derby County Football Club, Rams, referee

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….

 

 

 

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