End of season games are often an excuse for a party; to celebrate success or more likely for Derby to forget the woes of the previous 9 months. So whilst the Rams faithful partied hard on the terraces of Vicarage Road, the team got in the mood and took to the field with a starting formation that under any other circumstances could have only been picked through a game of pin the tail on the donkey. For example Derby began the gane with leading scorer Rob Hulse  at centre back and midfielder Stephen Pearson at left back. 

Despite this, the signs looked promising for the Rams, who started brightly and came close to taking an early lead had Barry Bannan not been thwarted in his efforts by the crossbar.  But any hope that this bright start would be reflective of the rest of the game quickly drained away as Derby fell back into old habits. 

Derby gifted Watford the lead through their inability to clear the ball; Jobi McAnuff pounced upon this opportunity to put the ball past Bywater from all but ten yards.  

It wasn’t long before a familiar face doubled the Hornet’s lead.   Former Derby ace Grzegorz Rasiak made the most of a goalmouth scramble to pounce onto the loose ball push it across the line into the empty net. 

The Polish striker had the game in the bag shortly before half time; latching onto an excellent ball from Tommy Smith to fire the ball in off the post. 

With the game as good as over at half time, the Rams turned focus  away from the past season and focused firmly the future.  The second half saw first team debuts for Mark O’Brien a 16 year old defender, and Mark Dudley a 19 year old left back.  Whilst these two represent a glimpse of a future Derby side it became apparent that for several of the players on display today this would be their final appearance in the hallowed shirt.  

One of those players almost certain to bid farewell after today’s game did so by grabbing a consolation goal for the Rams; John Eustace headed powerfully past Watford keeper Loach making the most of a Gary Teale cross. 

To end the season on such a low note is always disappointing, but Rams fans will take heart in the fact that the Derby side that left the field today will be much changed when August comes. 

After all, in Clough we trust!

Another season of Championship football was finally assured for the Rams after this determined victory against already relegated Charlton. 

The first half of this affair highlighted all the reasons why these two teams have both languished in the lower half of the table for much of the season.  The problem lay not in the amount of chances created by either team, but instead in their inability to capitalise upon their efforts. 

Kris Common’s claimed the best of Derby’s chances during the first half coming closest around the 20 minute mark, when a darting run from midfield opened up the opportunity for a shot. Whilst on previous occasions the Scotland international has managed to burst the back of the net from this distance, his attempt this time fell agonisingly wide. 

The second half started much brighter than the first.  Newly crowned player of the season Rob Hulse came tantalisingly close twice, and similar chances were had through Albrechtsen and Commons. It was clear that the Rams could sense that victory was in their grasp and with it mathematical safety. 

All the pressure on display at Pride Park today, was released by a Rob Hulse goal on 70 minutes. Gary Teale’s corner was cleared but only as far as Bannan who returned it back in to the box to be headed in by Hulse. 

With the season now all but over, the Ram’s can finally begin to look towards August and the start of the new Clough era in earnest.

Derby once again failed to achieve mathematical safety, leaving it instead until the penultimate weekend of the season for another chance to seal the deal. 

To say that Reading rattled Derby’s cage during the opening stages of the game would be the understatement of the season. The ball found its way to the back of Derby’s net no less than three times during the first half, however fortunately for the Rams each time defensive errors went unpunished as each goal was ruled out for offside. 

After these defensive blips the first half turned into an open game of football with both teams creating good chances.  Derby came closest eight minutes from the end of the half when a Kris Commons shot was deflected just beyond the Reading post by Duberry.

The second half started much like the first had finished, with both sides creating chances.  As expected though it was reading who took the first goal; a deft Kitson header from the cross of Kebe. 

Hulse almost responded immediately for the Ram’s but was unable get enough power on his header to beat Hahnemann. 

Reading proved to be too much for Derby to cope with, as highlighted when on 72 minutes a long ball fed Shane Long in to score their second of the game, and ultimately seal the three points. 

If Derby are unable to gather the necessary points for survival at home to Charlton this coming Saturday, they will be hoping that Reading can repeat tonight’s performance against Norwich on Monday, where a draw for the Royals will be enough to put Derby’s season to bed.

Derby were left ruing missed chances as they left South London still two points short of assured mathematical safety. 

However if this was playing on the minds of the Derby players then it certainly didn’t show.  This tie had end-of-season-kick-around written all over it, and that is exactly how it was played. 

The first half produced little play of note, with its most significant moment coming in the opening seconds of the match when Nick Carle took Savage out with a late challenge. 

Derby’s best chance of the half came in its dying seconds; Pearson out on the wing, spotted Hulse waiting to pounce in the box, however his pull back to him was hit just behind the Derby hotshot and the danger soon passed. 

The second half brought a little spice to the proceedings. On the hour mark Victor Moses caught Sterjovski in a bad tackle, and having already seen yellow for a dive the referee was left with little choice but to dismiss the Palace player. 

Playing against ten men the advantage was supposed to be with the Rams, but only three minutes after the sending off Palace were one up. 

Kuqi having been played through the offside trap by Clint Hill all too easily, deftly chipped over Bywater to score what was ultimately to be the match winner. 

Derby did push forward towards the end of the game, and actually had the ball in the back of the net at one point through Tito Villa, however the offside flag ruled the goal out.

 In the second game of Derby’s Easter doubleheader the Rams squandered a 2-1 lead against the league leaders to ultimately lose the game 3-2. 

The game did not get off to the best of starts for the Rams, who after only 6 minutes found themselves a goal behind.  Andy Keogh struck an impressive volley past Bywater after shrugging off Albrechtsen; whilst the Dane may count himself unlucky not to have the shove considered a foul, questions must be asked as to how he was shoved off the ball so easily. 

Thankfully the Rams began to pick up form after this early episode.  Making his first start for the Rams since the arrival of Clough, the on loan Przemyslaw Kazmierczak was at the heart of Derby’s best attacking play.  His perseverance was finally rewarded on the half hour mark when his 25yard free-kick hit the back of the net showing some of the magic Rams fans expected when he joined from Porto in the summer. 

Unfortunately for Derby a mid-game injury crisis meant that neither Kazmierczak nor McEveley were to play any part in the second half.   The Rams refused to let this affect their play and came out from the break fighting.  Within minutes Hulse found himself denied twice from close range. 

Derby’s attacking play paid off just 10 minutes into the half; in a smart piece of play Commons pulled a corner back to the unmarked Sterjovski who volleyed home from 15 yards. 

At this point it should have been game over, but the Rams defensive frailties that have repeatedly shown their face of late were determined to unravel the previous hour’s good work. 

On 74 minutes Derby struggled to deal with a Reid cross into the box, their inability to clear the ball was punished clinically by Jarvis who fired into the goal from close range. 

Derby were caught out again 4 minutes from time.  On the counter attack Wolves charged forward down the right, Marlon Harewood was able to put in a cross which was met by Andy Keogh who headed home from close range for his second of the game and ultimately the winner. 

The Rams were left with no one to blame for the defeat but themselves; having fought so hard to gain the lead against the league leaders in first place, it makes it all the more difficult to watch them then throw it away to goals which even the most basic defensive practices should have kept out.

This Easter visit to Hillsborough saw the Rams finally pass the magical 50 point barrier as they took one giant leap towards finally sewing up Championship football for next season.

The Derby side fielded today had a different feel about it, with the most noticeable absence being the rested Robbie Savage. The Rams’ keen to avoid the midweek thrashing at Cardiff bogging down their performance made an impressive start to the game.

Derby created a number of early chances keeping former Ram, Lee Grant busy. In the early stages of the game Hulse and Teale came closest for the Rams however arguably the most spectacular chance fell to Darren Potter whose free-kick for Wednesday stung the cross-bar leaving the Rams counting their luck.

As the first half was approaching its death Rob Hulse appeared to head home Gary Teale’s excellent free-kick.

Having entered half-time with the lead, the Rams emerged knowing that all they had to do was maintain a clean sheet.

For virtually the entire second half Sheffield Wednesday piled on the pressure, however despite Tudgay and Esajas both impressing they were unable to turn these opportunities.

By the end of the ninety minutes Derby’s play was beginning to appear increasingly scrappy but unlike previous games the Rams’ back line stood strong and held on for that all important victory.

Derby’s midweek visit to Ninian Park was the result of the previous tie being postponed due to the weather; after ninety minutes many Derby were left hoping once again for some divine intervention. 

Out of the blocks it was the Rams who created the best chances, with John Eustace twice making a nuisance of himself amongst the Bluebirds’ defence, but as Derby’s luck goes this season it was Cardiff who struck first. On 16 minutes Roger Johnson rose to head Peter Whittingham’s free-kick past a helpless Bywater. 

With a goal behind them Cardiff finally began to pick up the pace and challenged Derby on effort.  Throughout the rest of the half both sides posed threats, but both were able to soak up the others pressure. 

Like the first half it took Cardiff 16 minutes from the restart to find the net again. Gavin Rae was able to roll the ball home after latching on to the perfectly weighted through ball of Stephen McPhail.

With Derby’s defence now crumbling badly it took only two minutes before Jay Boothroyd reacted quickest from a Whittingham corner to made it 3 for the Bluebirds and effectively sealed up the three points. 

In a telling substitution Clough acted swiftly to replace Albrechtsen with Todd, whilst the Dane may have offered the Rams a rock on which to build their defence in earlier parts of the season in recent games he has increasingly become a liability. 

The presence of Todd however was not enough to stop the rot, and with eleven minutes left on the clock former Derby target and Kansas City Wizard Eddie Johnson stole the ball from the experienced Derby defender before tucking the ball neatly into the net. 

An Eddie Johnson own goal late into injury time offered little consolation for a Rams side who had once again had its defensive frailties ripped open for all to see. 

It took Derby late into injury time to salvage a point from this encounter with Burnley in front of a sundrenched Pride Park.

The first half was a testy affair with end to end football. Gary Teale twice came close for the Rams, once with a long range effort forcing Brian Jensen into a diving save in the bottom left reaches of his goal, and secondly an attempt from the edge of the box which was also saved well by Jensen although this time at a more comfortable height.

Burnley came closest through a Clarke Carlisle header that rebounded off the cross bar eventually finding its way out to Rhys Williams whose powerful shot was spectacularly pushed over the bar by Bywater. 

The second half was decidedly less frantic than the first, but despite the rams having the majority of the better play during its early periods it was Burnley who took the lead through Chris Mcann just before the hour mark.  In a calamitous defensive error Bywater and Albrechtsen collided whilst going for the same ball, which in turn bobbled to the Claret man who simply rolled it into the empty net. 

From this point onwards it seemed that Derby had little left in them, and were settling for the defeat. The appearance of Tito Villa with 15 minutes left on the clock offered some hope as he injected some energy back into the Derby performance, but any attacks were proving to be less than fruitful. 

And so came injury time; thousands of the Rams faithful were already pouring out of Pride Park, when seemingly out of nowhere Villa controlled the ball on the edge of the area laying off to Teale whose tasty ball across the box was met by the diving header of Captain Connolly. 

Whilst a home draw may often seem like a particularly unremarkable result, a point snatched from the jaws of defeat tasted as sweet as any victory for many a Derby fan today.

With a long list of players on the treatment table it was always going to be a lacklustre afternoon for the Rams.  

Fielding an unchanged side Clough’s boys managed to impress little during the first half, failing to get a single shot on target.  Barnsley faired little better; however the Tykes did come close through Michael Mifsud; who when through one on one with Bywater was unable to guide the ball past the Derby shot stopper. 

The second half was a slightly brighter affair, with Barry Bannan coming on to replace the frankly disappointing Barazite. 

Derby’s best chance came through John Eustace, who after over 60 minutes of play forced Barnsley keeper Muller into his first proper save of the match.  

Gary Teale came close for the Rams as well, with a well struck shot from the edge of the area; however it proved to be an easy save for Muller, summing up Derby’s afternoon. 

Barnsley too had their chances.  In one ‘heart in mouths’ moment for all Derby fans, Tyke substitute Mounir el Haimour swung a cross/shot/miss kick (delete as appropriate) into the box from the far left, thinking it was harmless enough Bywater left it only to watch helplessly as the ball struck the inside of post and away past the ready to pounce Jon Macken. 

Bywater was able to redeem himself with a wonderful save deflecting Macken’s shot wide from close range. 

Overall the Rams found themselves outplayed by Barnsely; however they can take heart from a rare clean sheet and hopefully return from the international break rejuvenated for the busy run in to the end of the season.    

Derby’s defence frailties were ripped open at Bramall Lane as the Blades scored four. 

Despite early attacking flourishes the Rams found themselves behind on seven minutes. David Cotterill found himself with the ball on the wing and under no pressure his pass across to Kyle Naughton  also in acres of space set the youngster up to shoot across the goal and past Bywater to give United the advantage. 

Just 14 minutes later the Blades doubled their lead with a Darius Henderson header from 6 yards. Once again Cotterill had been able to find space on the wing to put in the necessary cross. 

It took Derby until the second half to conjure up any sort of reply. On 52 minutes Gary Teale’s shot had Kenny beaten only for Chris Morgan to clear off the Sheffield United line; his clearance fell straight to Hulse who will face few easier chances as he fired home from close range. 

The ray of light offered by Hulse’s goal was soon cancelled out by another act of absent defending.  Cotterill again found space down to play in Henderson who easily turned Albrechtsen to shoot low into the goal. 

As if highlight the differences between this Derby team that of earlier in the season the Rams did not give up and kept their heads high continuing to attack.  This perseverance paid off just six minutes later with a goal from new boy Barry Bannan.  A darting run from Davies into the box gave him the opportunity to pull the ball back to Bannan who buried the ball high into the roof of Kenny’s net.  

With Derby continuing to attack it would not have been unexpected had they succeeded in grabbing an equaliser; but any late celebration went the way of the Blades as late into injury time as Craig Beattie took United’s tally to four driving low past Bywater. 

Ultimately the result may have been harsh on a Derby side who attacked well throughout the game; however this only serves to highlight the frailties in the Rams’ defensive line something which must be seriously addressed before next weeks visit of Barnsley.