Tag Archives: Tom Ince

15th September – Ince off the mark as solid Rams win again

15 Tuesday Sep 2015

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15th September

Reading                    0         Orlando Sa sent off 45+2

Derby County         1          Tom Ince 69

Games at Reading have proved difficult for Derby County over the years so this hard earned win is particularly pleasing.

An organised and solid Rams team took the points thanks to Tom Ince’s first goal of the season moving up to 10th place in the process.

This was a game of few thrills and spills, Ince’s neatly taken goal being our best chance, the only other incident of note being the dismissal of Reading’s Orlanda Sa just before the break for head butting Jason Shackell.

Paul Clement talked of surprising people in an interview before this game and made three changes to the team to keep both us and the players on their toes.

Lee Grant found himself back on the bench after his good performance at Preston with Scott Carson restored to the starting XI.

The rotating of keepers does bother me, the position more than most others demands stability but at the moment we seem to be recreating the era of England of c.1978 where Peter Shilton & Ray Clemence were selected in turn by Ron Greenwood.

Carson played well when called into action, pulling off one notable save from Oliver Norwood

Two other changes to the team that beat Preston saw the injured Chris Baird missing out and Stephen Warnock move to the bench to be replaced by Jeff Hendrick and Craig Forsyth with Bradley Johnson playing the pivotal defensive midfielder role in a 4-3-3.

Chris Martin took the captain’s armband in the absence of Baird in a move that appropriately reflects his importance to the team.

It was an energetic start to the game with the hosts winning a couple of corners in the first minute, but without causing any problems for the Rams.

Derby responded with a good move inspired by Johnny Russell’s good work, Russell found Chris Martin on the edge of the area but our No.9 wasn’t able to get the ball out of his feet and Jeff Hendrick’s shot, after picking up the ball, was deflected wide, though the referee did not award the corner it warranted.

The Rams were content to hold their shape and the game moved along without much incident. Jacob Butterfield unleashed a couple of powerful shots from distance, both blocked well by the Reading defence and just past the half hour Scott Carson pulled off an excellent save from a Oliver Norwood looper.

An increasingly quiet and uneventful half came to life just before the end of added time when Royals striker Orlanda Sa, fresh from a hat-trick against Ipswich Town last time out, head butted Jason Shackell (surely not a good idea?) following a niggle between the two players and was given a red card for his trouble.

The Rams were well organised in the first half without ever really threatening the home team consistently. Equally the Royals had not dominated though they flickered with more attacking threat and intent.

Derby made a good start to the second half, an early move culminating in Cyrus Christie firing a shot towards goal.

Just past the hour the Rams made a change, showing some aggressive intent, Darren Bent coming on in place of Jeff Hendrick.

In a quiet second half Bradley Johnson again showed well, putting himself about, playing some good passes and adding a physical presence to our midfield.

The Rams took the lead on 69 minutes with a well worked goal.

Jacob Butterfield played the ball to Chris Martin on the edge of the area and Tom Ince, who’d had a quiet game up to that point, popped up in the area to get on the end of a neat pass from Martin and poke in his first goal of the season.

The rest of the game played out without too much anxiety, Reading, despite being a player down, did press as the game came to its end, but without ever really carving out a clear chance.

Both of our full backs had a decent game with Cyrus Christie showing more of the form and confidence of early last season and Craig Forsyth galloping forward regularly; Fozzie also came close with a late chance blazing a first time volley just over.

Richard Keogh continued his impressive start to the season, composed and organised, his partnership with Jason Shackell increasingly the bedrock of our team.

Reading are a useful team with a habit of turning us over so this is an excellent three points won in a professional and workmanlike way.

Two away wins sets us up nicely for the visit of Burnley next Monday –  what price a nice 1-0 win courtesy of a goal from one J.Shackell ?

Played GD Pts
8 Nottingham Forest 7 1 11
9 QPR 6 1 10
10 Derby County 7 1 10
11 Reading 7 4 9
12 Charlton Athletic 7 1 9
13 Fulham 6 1 8

21st August – Johnny on the spot again for Rams at Blues

22 Saturday Aug 2015

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21st August

Birmingham City     1       Stephen Gleeson 45

Derby County          1          Johnny Russell 61

This was an exciting game with quality on show from both sides but the wait for a first win for Paul Clement’s Rams goes on.

The game statistics confirm that this was more of the same for Derby in that the Rams had;

63% of the possession

20 attempts on goal

Hit the woodwork four times

But only had Johnny Russell’s superb finish to show for it at the end.

Disappointment at not having won put aside, we looked better again in this game and there were long periods of the game where we attacked with tempo and created a lot of problems for the home team.

Tom Ince had his best game of the season so far, was involved throughout and hit the woodwork.

Birmingham played well and are a good side under Gary Rowett, and they will also be rueing the chances they had. Scott Carson had an excellent game in goal for us and made two great saves in the first ten minutes to keep the Blues at bay.

Richard Keogh had another good game and even a change of full backs for this game, with Cyrus Christie and Craig Forsyth brought into the team for this game, did not disturb that.

The swaps at full back were two of four changes made for this game. Johnny Russell started after his goal against Middlesbrough and Darren Bent made his first start of the season.

Chris Baird moved from right back to accompany George Thorne in the centre of midfield, Stephen Warnock and Andi Weimann dropped to the bench and the injured Jeff Hendrick and Jamie Hanson missed out.

We lined up in a 4-4-2 for this game and perhaps that determined the choice of full backs.

Stephen Warnock had a good game against Boro and Cyrus Christie was not even on the bench on Tuesday night but perhaps the mobility of Craig Forsyth and Christie determined their selection with more required from those positions to support the midfield.

Fozzie had a decent game all over the pitch, providing his usual threat going forward. Christie looked better going forward than defensively at times but this was an improvement from him.

After the home team’s energetic start the Rams hit a purple patch from the quarter hour onwards with opportunities in short order falling to Russell, Darren Bent, Bent (again), Tom Ince, Bent (again) and Ince (again)

The woodwork, good Blues defending, a fatal delay in shooting when the opportunity presented itself and rank bad luck all took their turn in preventing us from capitalising on these chances.

While the build up play was good there was a creeping sense of unease about not taking the chances when we had them in this most competitive of leagues.

The game quietened down towards half time but the Rams failure to close down on Stephen Gleeson as the ball was cleared from a corner cost us as his shot from distance took a deflection and found its way into the net to put the hosts ahead just before the break.

Birmingham made a strong start to the second half and came close to taking what may have been a decisive two goal lead heading a chance over and putting a shot wide – the Rams recovered though and hit another lengthy purple patch that lasted for a good twenty minutes.

Craig Forsyth hit a fine shot that Tomasz Kuszczak somehow managed to keep out and away from Darren Bent.

The pressure told for us just after the hour when George Thorne won a terrific tackle to regain possession in our half which in turn led to Tom Ince playing the lurking Johnny Russell in on the left of the Blues area.

With great power and precision JR fired into the roof of the net and we were level.

For a moment on 68 minutes it looked as if referee Lee Mason had awarded the Rams a penalty when Chris Martin went down in the area but, countering the old cliché that refs never change their minds, Mason then booked Martin for diving.

Was it a pen? – Seen them given….. Was it a booking? – Probably not.

It struck me as a Premier League ref in a Championship game feeling the need to make a “big” decision

Andi Weimann was brought on with twenty minutes to go replacing Darren Bent, but not before Bent had hit the woodwork again just after the equalising goal. On another night Bent would have personally bagged four.

The game closed with both sides still eager but both tiring to an extent.

Still unbeaten in the league but no wins for the Rams then.

The evidence on the pitch looks promising with development in each game – we are looking more threatening and our attacking game seems to be moving into gear.

We look particularly good when we move with high tempo.

Our old friends from Yorkshire next then.

                                                                   Played GD    Pts

  1. Wolves                                                       3       0       4
  2. Derby County                                           4       0       4
  3. Nottingham Forest                              3       0       4
  4. QPR                                                               3      -1      4
  5. Cardiff City                                               3       0       3
  6. Leeds United                                            3       0       3

25th April – Rams rescue a point on day of sadness

25 Saturday Apr 2015

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25th April

Millwall      3       Lee Gregory 26, 36 (pen), 50 (pen)

Derby County   3  Tom Ince 42, Chris Martin 70 (pen), Jeff Hendrick 85

This game was overshadowed by the sad sad news prior to kick off of the death of Colin Bloomfield.

Always a warm and engaging broadcaster and clearly a much loved & respected colleague & friend the news hung over the day heavily. I have huge respect and admiration for Ed, Owen and Craig for managing to hold it together on Radio Derby when remembering their friend prior to kick off

A further reminder of the trivial nature of football was the minute’s silence before kick off in memory of those that lost their lives in the Bradford City disaster in 1985.

It is difficult, therefore, to get too upset at yet another series of self inflicted defensive disasters in this game which required another Tom Ince inspired rescue act to scrabble together a point against a limited team.

It is unbelievable that we have scored seven goals in the last two away games yet only taken two points from those games.

Like any other Rams fan I am finding it difficult to think of new ways of describing the awfulness of our defence in recent weeks, no matter which players happen to be on duty.

The season has gone off the rails since we beat Charlton so comfortably 2-0 on 24th February – an awful run of performances and a complete absence of defensive structure since then.

Since that Tuesday night our record is –

P 12  W 2  D 6  L 4  F 17  A 20  Pts 12

Which is bang on relegation form.

Injuries of course have affected us – but the complete loss of confidence and competence when we are defending surely has deeper roots than missing personnel.

There are probably as many theories around about why this has happened as there are Rams fans but a lot of my favourite theories centre on Steve McClaren and what has or has not happened in the last three months involving Newcastle United.

Something has happened for sure, a feeling that was personally only strengthened by what I saw and heard at the fans Q&A at the iPro last Thursday evening.

We were hit again by absences when selecting the team for this game. In addition to the injuries that Craig Bryson and Zak Whitbread picked up in the Huddersfield game Darren Bent was also missing owing to illness.

With Chris Martin only fit enough to be on the bench this meant the return of Conor Sammon to the starting eleven. The scarcity of options for the Rams was also illustrated by Lee Naylor returning to the bench.

Milwall came out strong, walking the line between firm and foul with early robust challenges on Stephen Warnock (twice) Will Hughes and Simon Dawkins.

Real opportunities in the first 25 minutes were absent in a game where the Rams were comfortably gaining control but just when we should have been looking to press on we unerringly found the self destruct button once again.

Lee Grant messed up a clearance from a back pass finding Millwall’s Lee Gregory, Craig Forsyth proved unable to make a goal line clearance as the ball bobbled in.

Ten minutes later, with the assistance of the referee, we were at it again. Jeff Hendrick surrendered possession too easily and Milwall broke on us, Richard Keogh made an excellent block in the area but the ball flew from his foot onto his hand and a nonsensical penalty was immediately awarded.

Lee Gregory put the spot kick away and we were 2-0 down.

Rams working on the now established principle of starting to go for it only when we’re two goals down pulled a goal back just before the break.

We won a free kick on the edge of the area and resident rescue act Tom Ince belted it in for his eleventh goal of his loan spell. Goodness knows where we would be without him and his goals in this later part of the season.

Whatever was said at half time clearly had as much impact upon our defence as all of the good advice and instruction they’ve received over the last few weeks as we went 3-1 down within five minutes.

Another self inflicted wound as Lee Grant gave away an unnecessary corner and shortly afterwards Jeff Hendrick wrestled Nicky Bailey to the ground; the inevitable penalty was awarded and put away by Lee Gregory for his hat-trick.

It was welcome back to Chris Martin who came on after 64 minutes and it was him who pulled us back to 3-2 thanks to a soft penalty we received when Tom Ince tumbled under some contact.

Our equaliser came from some excellent work from half time substitute Johnny Russell and Tom Ince, Ince heading the ball across the box for Jeff Hendrick who volleyed the ball into the top corner with five minutes to go.

There was some unsurprising nonsense from Milwall fans with violent scenes at the end of the game. So much has changed in football over recent years but some things that have remained the same, the unpleasantness of Millwall being one of them.

Another curate’s egg performance then, a point gained but we still require a point from the last game against Reading to secure a place in the play-offs.

If we got that point, and the way we are playing there is no great confidence of that, how would we cope in the play-offs?

That is a thought for a day other than this.

Played GD Pts
1. Watford 45 +41 88
2. AFC Bournemouth 44 +47 84
3. Middlesbrough 45 +31 84
4. Norwich City 45 +38 83
5. Ipswich Town 45 +19 78
6. Derby County 45 +32 77
7. Brentford 45 +16 75
8. Wolves 45 +12 75

18th April – No defence as Rams take a point in eight goal shootout

19 Sunday Apr 2015

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18th April

Huddersfield Town   4      Gobern 38, Hudson 41, James 45+2, Wells 72

Derby County           4       Ince 16,79,  Dawkins 52, Lingard 61

It’s never easy being a Rams fan is it?

The Rams travelled to sunny Yorkshire on a four game unbeaten run with hopes of consolidating a play off spot against a Huddersfield team drifting in the safe waters of lower mid table.

Straightforward game? Not a chance.

After taking the lead with a Tom Ince cracker some appalling amateurish defending in the first half saw us go in 1-3 down.

We hauled ourselves back to 3-3 only to gift the Terriers yet another goal which required another Tom Ince rescue mission to save a point.

The game was littered with injuries for the Rams, Craig Bryson, Zak Whitbread and Will Hughes being forced off at various points in the game – exactly what we do not need considering our injury problems this season.

Before we knew about the mayhem that would unfold Steve McClaren kept us on our toes by naming an unchanged back four with Shotton, Keogh, Whitbread & Warnock continuing.

Not that circumstance allowed us to keep that unit together for long with Zak Whitbread being forced off with injury after 27 minutes at which point the roof fell in for the rest of the first half.

Midfield saw a change with Will Hughes returning after suspension with Simon Dawkins making way and dropping down to the bench.

I was surprised at this as Dawks has played well on Tuesday against, the admittedly limited, Blackpool, looking composed on the ball.

No sign of Chris Martin in the match day squad suggesting that the “setback” mentioned on Tuesday night could be as serious as we had feared.

Missing also from the 18 was Raul Albentosa who has been selected intermittently after the long wait to see him in the team.

We worked very hard to sign the big Spanish defender and apparently spend a lot of effort planning our signings but things have not gone well which makes you wonder what is going on in the background, especially considering our need for defensive leadership is desperate.

Any debates about the rights and wrongs of Simon Dawkins being left out were soon neutralised as Craig Bryson was on the receiving end of a heavy Joel Lynch tackle on five minutes that ended his participation, Dawkins replacing him and having another good game.

The Rams started steadily, looking composed and Tom Ince gave us the lead with a belting shot from distance that arrowed into the top corner on 16 minutes. We looked comfortable and while not in control, certainly in a good position.

Everything went rapidly downhill when Zak Whitbread fell awkwardly after a coming together with the always physical Ishmael Miller and had to be substituted immediately with Cyrus Christie coming on at right back and Ryan Shotton moving to centre half.

Zak Whitbread has always looked a good player to me but whether he can stay healthy enough to be the calm head we need in that back four is a question – no report yet on his injury from this game but we have looked better with him playing – and looked chaotic without him yesterday.

We conceded three awful goals in eight minutes towards the end of the half and it was not only the number of goals that we let in but the manner of the surrender that was alarming.

Possession lost by the desperately shaky Cyrus Christie lead to goal one, an unchallenged header from a corner lead to goal two and a corner allowed directly into the net saw us go in 3-1 down at the half to a, no disrespect intended, middling team with nothing to play for.

The defence was yet again playing like strangers and with no confidence or structure – it is really shocking and disappointing to see and talk of promotion with displays at the back like this sounds delusional.

The second half showed no immediate improvement as Nakhi Wells should really have put the hosts 4-1 up as he went clear on our goal with only Lee Grant to beat. He only managed to catch Grant squarely in the face with his effort the ball going out for a corner.

And then just when hope was disappearing Simon Dawkins got himself on the end of a Stephen Warnock cross to bring us back into the game at 2-3 and suddenly the mood changed.

Dawkins having an excellent game contributed to the (first) equaliser helping to pull us back level at 3-3 laying off for Jesse Lingard who put away his second goal for the Rams since joining on loan.

A chance then for us to push on and win a vital 3pts ?……..not with the way our defence is playing.

Ryan Shotton gave the ball away under no pressure, Sean Scannell skinned Stephen Warnock again and from the ensuing melee the ball was bundled into the net for the hosts to take the lead again 4-3.

One final twist thanks to Tom Ince coolly putting away his second goal of the game and his tenth since joining us to bring it back again to 4-4 and at that point the scoring madness ended….though not before we played with fire at the back again and the Terriers had an offside winner ruled out.

Steve McClaren sounded either tired or disengaged in his post match interview – seemingly at a loss as to what to do and musing about taking the players away for a warm weather break this week to gee up team spirit.

Personally rather than catching planes and coaches here and there I’d be happier to hear about some focused work together at Moor Farm for the week to up the team spirit and get us ready for the last two games of the regular season.

We’re hanging on to our play off spot but it feels like by our fingertips at the moment.

Played GD Pts
1. Watford 44 +39 85
2. AFC Bournemouth 44 +47 84
3. Middlesbrough 44 +32 84
4. Norwich City 44 +38 82
5. Derby County 44 +32 76
6. Ipswich Town 44 +18 75
7. Brentford 44 +14 72
8. Wolves 44 +11 72

14th April – Rams in Seasiders Stroll

15 Wednesday Apr 2015

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14th April

Derby County     4         Craig Bryson 3, Tom Ince 28, Darren Bent 29, 65(pen)

Blackpool            0

This proved to be just the game we needed after recent disappointments and frustrations.

A relegated Blackpool suffering the kind of off-field traumas to draw the sympathies of right minded football fans everywhere put up minimal resistance and also created one of the goals for us along the way as the Rams sauntered to a 4-0 win.

The match was played on a beautiful spring evening and the warm sunshine that bathed the iPro was a joy to behold. Pitchside the temperature was positively balmy and had me thinking idly what is must be like to watch your football in La Liga as I considered the latest changes to a Rams starting line up.

Four changes today as Zak Whitbread, Ryan Shotton, Simon Dawkins and Jesse Lingard started replacing Raul Albentosa, Craig Forsyth, Johnny Russell and Chris Martin.

Another new back four line up for this game with Richard Keogh moving back to centre half alongside Whitbread, Shotton returning to right back and Stephen Warnock carrying on at left back.

Blackpool posed little threat and were poor ( not that this has stopped us struggling before) but before the value of the clean sheet we earned is this game is totally written off it should be remembered that the Seasiders only lost 2-3 to Ipswich Town last Saturday, the Tractor Boys needing a last minute winner to seal the win.

As has been the case for a few games we started well on the front foot. Unlike recent games though, we scored an early goal which set the tone for the rest of the game.

Craig Bryson picked up the ball in midfield in the third minute and pressed forward unchallenged to the edge of the area letting fly with a strong, but bobbling shot that evaded keeper and Elliot Parish and hit the net.

Bryson’s celebration was very obvious and very pointed “shhhhhh” to all comers which suggests that all is not well with the midfielder, though this is no surprise to us who have seen but a shadow of the player who bagged 16 goals for us last season.

Tom Ince was busy and threatening and a lovely shimmy on the quarter hour saw him free up space and shoot over. His “I’m not celebrating “goal celebration was not long delayed however as he put us 2-0 up on 28 minutes.

For want of a better description our second goal was created by Ryan Shotton’s fake long throw as he gave every impression of preparing to fling the ball into the area but instead went short to Ince who dropped a shoulder, lost a defender and deliciously passed the ball into the far corner for his eighth goal of his loan spell.

Our third goal took a further 30 seconds or so to arrive as Blackpool kicked off and Charles Dunne catastrophically misjudged his pass to Darren O’Dea and served only to play in Darren Bent who gleefully slotted home to make it 3-0.

The relaxed air around the game made it easy for Rams fans to express our support for the hardy band of around 100 Blackpool fans who had made the trip south. Numerous chants inviting Karl Oyston to take his leave from the club were aired as well as the amusing “Oyston for Forest”

It was good to see us support fellow fans who have seen their club abused by those who have a responsibility to run the club and set up for relegation even before the season had started.

To read some of the Twitter reactions of Blackpool fans after the game was genuinely heart warming as shivers of recognition when thinking back to our own traumas of the past.

The second half was routine, even including our efforts to gift Blackpool a goal. Jesse Lingard skied a very good chance but looked threatening and, to be honest, seems to offer us more at the moment than the lion hearted Johnny Russell.

Ryan Shotton earned the fourth goal, fouled in the area as he rampaged along and Darren Bent walloped the resulting penalty into the top corner for his twelfth goal since January – an impressive return considering that we are still working out how best to play to his strengths.

I was a little concerned at Jeff Hendrick’s substitution – some bellowed exchanges with Paul Simpson preceded the change and to me he seemed to be gingerly holding his side / stomach as he left the pitch.

Surely not another injury?

I was pleased to see Zak Whitbread play and feel he offers us some defensive know how allied to an ability to play a decent pass. Yes, the opposition was poor but Ryan Shotton played well and Stephen Warnock looked much less ragged than on Saturday.

Jamie Ward made a late appearance and almost managed to start a fight when going in hard on one of the Blackpool players, A frustrated Peter Clarke looked like he wanted to punch someone, anyone, he did not seem too fussed, in response.

You can always rely on Jamie to add a little niggle to proceedings.

After the game Steve McClaren, when explaining the absence of Chris Martin, said that our iconic number nine had experienced “a setback” in training.

Considering our luck this season when it comes to injuries “a setback” could mean anything from a stubbed toe to having been abducted by aliens who have promised to bring him back in “2-4 weeks”

Hopefully he will return (again) soon.

As is traditional in recent weeks every team above us in the league that was playing won their games meaning that fifth place is looking about as good as it will get for us this season.

Another spin at the playoffs is not to be scorned but we need to recover the momentum and form that took us higher in the league against opponents who will not be as obliging as Blackpool were.

Played GD Pts
1. AFC Bournemouth 43 +47 83
2. Norwich City 43 +39 82
3. Middlesbrough 43 +31 81
4. Watford 42 +36 79
5. Derby County 43 +32 75
6. Ipswich Town 43 +18 74
7. Brentford 43 +14 71
8. Wolves 43 +11 71

20th March – Groundhog night at Molineux as Rams downed again

21 Saturday Mar 2015

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20th March

Wolverhampton Wanderers    2      Nouha Dicko 48, Lee Grant (o.g) 69

Derby County                              0

Another evening full of the frustrations that have bedevilled Rams fans in recent games was the outcome of the Friday night trip to Wolverhampton.

A display much improved on that against Middlesbrough was for nothing as the woodwork was clanged, possession dominated but two dreadful defensive errors were punished and there was an all too familiar refereeing mystery that changed the course of the game in the first half.

I was at this game with a Wolves mate and watched from the unusual vantage point of the home stand so it was interesting that those fans around me knowing I was a Ram unanimously agreed that referee Keith Stroud should have either sent off Danny Batth for bundling over Darren Bent as he closed on goal in the first half, or played the advantage and allowed the goal that Tom Ince subsequently scored.

To do neither and only award us a free kick was baffling and with our fragile confidence damaging – as Steve McClaren put it afterwards;

“We’ve set standards at this football club in trying to be humble about accepting refereeing decisions. Tonight that was tested to the limit. It was difficult to take”

Two changes for the Rams coming into this game with the return of Darren Bent and the inclusion of Jesse Lingard at the expense of the two Jamies, Ward and Hanson. A change of formation too with the Rams lining up in an attacking 4-2-3-1 that seemed to morph into a 4-4-1-1 when out of possession.

For the players we had on the pitch the formation seemed to be an improvement as Will Hughes, Craig Bryson, Tom Ince and Jesse Lingard saw a lot of the ball throughout the game and worked well together. It was the most I had seen Lingard involved in a game and he looked sharp skillful and willing.

Ince worked hard, always looking to create and struck the crossbar with a looping shot in the first half and came close to breaking through with some intricate one – twos on a number of occasions.

Craig Bryson also hit the woodwork in the second half with a cross shot that Tomasz Kuszczak might just have got a fingertip to and these near misses added to 60% possession and 15 efforts on goal suggest a game that we should have won but for all of the above we were never clinical enough in front of the Wolves goal nor composed enough in front of our own.

Wolves set up with two pacy strikers in Benik Afobe and Nouha Dicko but were often happier to play on the break, conceding possession and territory to us and, particularly in the second half, setting up on the edge of their penalty area and looking to crowd out any of our intricate passing moves.

Our full backs, particularly Cyrus Christie, struggled to get forward effectively and while Craig Forsyth had plenty of opportunities to put in dangerous crossed his final ball too often found a gold shirt. There was a superb opportunity early in the first half when Fozzie was freed on the left and with Bent open and waiting in the penalty area he just failed to find him. A little bit of composure and precision then could have made all of the difference.

I’m beginning to doubt our half time routine and preparation. Is that pre-kick off warm up worthwhile?

Yet again we were slow and sluggish out of the blocks and a mistake by Fozzie gave the ball away to Kevin McDonald who played in Nouha Dicko who fired through Lee Grant to give the home team the lead and immediate deflation to Rams hopes.

There followed what felt like a long period of Derby pinning Wolves back onto their eighteen yard line without ever making an incisive breakthrough. Wolves withdrew Dicko to add another midfielder to add to the defensive barricades.

Unfortunately just before the 70 minute mark the Rams self destructed, Lee Grant opting to try and punch a sliced Richard Keogh clearance from under his own bar only managing to punch it into the net to make it 2-0.

The rest of the match consisted of the Rams playing some attractive approach play without ever creating a clear cut chance interspersed with Wolves breakaways most notably Bakary Sako rumbling through at least six apparently exhausted Rams players and finding himself one on one with Lee Grant only to blaze over.

I left Molineux with a palpable sense of gloom about our prospects even to make the playoffs this year, never mind automatic promotion. In the hours since I have remembered some of the good play we saw last night but at the risk of repitition to the point of boredom, we are so dearly missing the qualities of Chris Martin and some composure in defence.

We have a fortnight off now and it is to be hoped the Rams use the days wisely and that also injuries heal in that time.

The results today have been kinder to us than they could have been with both Watford and Middlesbrough losing and Brentford drawing so we at least have the destiny of the season in our hands.

This is a crazy division this year and we know anything is possible before season’s end but we need to find our mojo…and quick.

Played GD Pts
1. AFC Bournemouth 39 +42 73
2. Watford 39 +32 72
3. Middlesbrough 39 +29 72
4. Norwich City 39 +33 70
5. Derby County 39 +26 67
6. Ipswich Town 39 +16 67

17th February – Loan rangers save the day as Millers make hay with Rams defence

17 Tuesday Feb 2015

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17th February

Rotherham United    3    Paul Green 35, Richard Smallwood 49, Matt Derbyshire 55

Derby County   3  Tom Ince 36,64    Darren Bent 83

Football eh? – Bloody hell.

Given the chance to go top of the league with a win we escaped with a point from the New York Stadium after being 3-1 down with half an hour to go.

Our defence seems to veer between rock solid and accident prone and the defending tonight was as poor as it has been for a very long time – or as Steve McClaren put it darkly afterwards – “You can’t win games defending like that….”

So a choice confronts us between being disappointed about missing out on going top or acknowledging a barnstorming comeback to win a hard earned point.

There was one change for the Rams from the last league game at Bournemouth as Darren Bent started in place of the injured Chris Martin.

The hosts had two former Rams in their team with Paul Green as captain and Ben Pringle also featuring. Watching on for the Millers was on loan Conor Sammon unable to play against us as part of his loan.

The hosts made a good start keeping us in our half for the first few minutes without really creating anything in the early minutes apart from a dangerous Ben Pringle free kick that Danny Ward headed straight at Lee Grant.

The Rams first attack had seen us break away on a move that saw Tom Ince shoot on goal but the save was easily made by Adam Collin.

Darren Bent drew a more difficult save from the Millers keeper and one of his defenders who just kept the ball off the line after a pass from Jeff Hendrick and, as the Rams stepped up their momentum Jamie Ward had two excellent chances as the game moved to the half hour.

A break for a serious looking injury to Rotherham’s Jack Hunt seemed to stall our momentum and we paid the price for losing focus as, inevitably, Paul Green was left unmarked to stab home from close range to put the Millers ahead.

It was obviously the kick up the backside that we needed as we were level within a minute thanks to a terrific goal from Tom Ince, again putting in a terrific performance, making some room for himself on the left hand side of the area and firing home.

We settled after the equaliser and controlled the rest of the half without ever creating a clear chance, the closest being when Tom Ince swung in a dangerous free kick that Darren Bent just missed.

As happens too often we made a slow start and fell behind again, giving away a sloppy free kick swung in by Richard Smallwood, Lee Grant went for the punch, missed and the ball went in to put the Millers ahead again on 49 minutes.

Bad became much worse as Matt Derbyshire was released by a mix up between Omar Mascarell and Richard Keogh and found himself through on Lee Grant firing home to make it 3-1 on 55 minutes.

The top of the table seemed a long way distant but our Head Coach is nothing if not a man of action and we saw a triple substitution on 59 minutes with Craig Bryson, Simon Dawkins and Jesse Lingard replacing Omar Mascarell, Jamie Ward and Jeff Hendrick.

Just after the changes Matt Derbyshire nearly made it 4-1 forcing a terrific save from Lee Grant but the substitutes then began making an impact and the roller coaster took another turn with man of the moment Tom Ince scoring again firing home a cross from Craig Forsyth to score his fifth goal for the Rams and pull it back to 3-2.

Rotherham started pulling back into their shell then, trying to hold what they had as the Rams showed more energy and invention and approximately 30 seconds after Steve McClaren moved Jesse Lingard over to the left wing, swapping with Simon Dawkins, the Manchester United loanee surged down the left, crossed and Darren Bent stole in front of the goalkeeper to pull the game level on 83 minutes.

From considering a demoralising defeat we were suddenly dreaming of an unlikely win but despite more pressure we could not complete the most unlikely of victories.

If we are to win promotion we must defend better than this and it was interesting to hear Paul Simpson speak before the game about how close Kelle Roos is running Lee Grant for a first team place. That was a surprise to hear and maybe Granty revels in a little pressure but we may well see changes on Saturday when we face Sheffield Wednesday – not least the return of Ryan Shotton.

Consider the impact of Tom Ince and Darren Bent since their arrival at the club – ten goals between them already and so influential to the team with the threat they provide – very little settling in required for both of these players, particularly Ince who is showing the explosive form that made him a hot property not so long ago.

So we are in 2nd place tonight – tomorrow Middlesbrough travel to Birmingham City with a chance to go 3pts clear at the top, quite an incentive when the table is as tight as this.

Played GD Pts
1. AFC Bournemouth 31 +33 59
2. Derby County 31 +30 59
3. Middlesbrough 30 +28 59
4. Ipswich Town 31 +19 57
5. Watford 31 +26 56
6. Norwich City 31 +23 53

10th February – Resilient Rams make a point at Bournemouth

10 Tuesday Feb 2015

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10th February

AFC Bournemouth 2 Matt Ritchie 12, Callum Wilson 44
Derby County 2 Tom Ince 30, Darren Bent 68

There is such a thing as a good point and in the aftermath of a breathless game at the Goldsands Stadium this feels like one.

This was such an intense game. It was high on tension, but also high in quality, as the Rams showed great character and resolve to equalise twice against the free scoring hosts and secure that good point.

Indeed we largely controlled the second half, restricted Bournemouth to one skewed Harry Artur effort and could quite easily have taken the three points from this crucial game.

Two of our January signings were on the score sheet with Tom Ince and Darren Bent both showing great poise to put away their chances and in doing so vindicating again the decision making processes at the club at the moment.

Think for a moment the impact that Ince jr. and Darren Bent have had in their short time at the Rams, seven goals between them and a lift to the squad and the team – and they are only part of the enhancement to the squad in January with Raul Albentosa likely to play a key part in the season to come and the presence of Stephen Warnock on the bench surely a factor in the resurgence of Craig Forsyth’s form in recent weeks.

The Rams made one change for this game, Cyrus Christie replacing Ryan Shotton at right back and it was a quick and powerful start to the game by Derby putting pressure on the hosts who looked nervy for the first five minutes and creaky at the back.

The mood changed quickly though and we seemed to be unsettled by an incident on 10 minutes when Lee Grant handled outside of the area while, arguably, being obstructed by Callum Wilson.

Referee Mark Clattenburg, who had a good game, made a pragmatic decision not punishing the Rams keeper but awarding the Cherries a free kick in a dangerous area. The free kick passed harmlessly but Bournemouth then scored with their first incisive attack Callum Wilson and Yann Kermogant setting up Matt Richie to score.

Bad became worse on 14 minutes when Chris Martin limped off with what looked like an ankle injury and was replaced by Darren Bent.

Of the many things that impressed me about the Rams tonight, how we coped without our talismanic No.9 was right up there.

Talk to Rams fans throughout this season and top of the list of our concerns was how the team would function without Chris Martin. Well, we were going to have to find out pretty sharpish in probably our most difficult game of the season after he limped off.

We struggled to settle in the aftermath of the goal and a weak backheader from Keogh almost gifted a second goal but Wilson could not finish.

After some heroics from Jake Buxton putting his body on the line to repel a Cherries attacks the Rams equalised thanks to the midfield maestro Hughes who tried to play in Darren Bent on the right hand side of the area.

The on loan striker robbed the Bournemouth full back Simon Francis and played a superb pass for Tom Ince and the man of the moment shimmied to dummy a defender and finished superbly for the goal.

From a high to a low within minutes though. After our equaliser we continued to pressure the hosts but then undid so much good work when just before the half time whistle Wilson was allowed to accept the ball by the Rams central defence and fire the Cherries back into the lead.

The second half started at a lesser pace than what had gone before, but no surprise there as it would have taken a superhuman effort by both sides to keep up the intensity.

The Rams slowly cranked up the pressure and control and worked a half chance for Tom Ince who got past a couple of defenders but was prevented from scoring again by a superb tackle from Tommy Elphick.

The second equaliser came from a clinical finish from Darren Bent. Good play by Craig Forsyth and Simon Dawkins (on as substitute only two minutes earlier for Jamie Ward) saw Dawkins play the ball across the area and the former England striker nipped in front of the defence for his fourth goal for the Rams – a quality finish from quality striker.

The Rams put more pressure on Cherries after the second equaliser and Bournemouth increasingly looked towards Callum Wilson for the long ball outlet as the game went on and had little else to offer by way of threat.

Even though we could not force the winner this was a performance to give us great heart for the rest of the season.

There were good performances all over the pitch tonight, Craig Forsyth having a good game, as did Omar Mascarell who is seemingly growing with every game. Tom Ince and Darren Bent provide us with a very welcome cutting edge.

Jeff Hendrick was again very good and Will Hughes has maintained a level of excellence over a number of games now that is a joy to see.

I can’t remember the last time a point felt so satisfying and positive and even seeing Middlesbrough grub their way past Blackpool 2-1 to go top could not detract from that.

 

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