Derby started the game in similar circumstances as their previous fixture; with some highly debatable refereeing. DJ Campbell, starting following his last gasp equaliser at the weekend, was denied an early penalty. The forward was clearly brought down by Preston keeper Lonergan as he raced into the Preston box. Preston were guilty of some poor finishing as they edged the first half. Sam Parkin fired over from close range whilst Ross Wallace hit the cross bar with a fantastic free kick from over 25 yards out.

Preston continued the barrage of shots in the second half as Neil Mellor forced a sublime save from Stephen Bywater. Derby grew in strength as the match wore on and DJ Campbell’s header was millimetres away from opening the scoreline as his header struck the underside of the crossbar. Callum Davidson was similarly unlucky as he hit the post from close range in the dying seconds.

Derby fans should feel proud of their team for another passionate display and valuable point. Deepdale is a notoriously difficult place to pick up even a point and fans will be delighted with Derby’s defence finally keeping a clean sheet away. As the Rams enter an important and hectic Christmas schedule Nigel Clough will be pleased Derby’s defence frailties are becoming less frequent. Clough will be hoping the Rams can pick up another point this Saturday at Vicarage Road.

The Rams came into the away fixture at Preston on the back of an impressive draw with high-flying West Brom; a match that Derby ought to have won had it not been for some dubious refereeing. Whilst performances on the pitch may have been improving it was slightly disconcerting to read the reports Nigel Clough may be forced to sell his prized assets in the January transfer window; notably Rob Hulse and Kris Commons. Hulse’s absence against Preston gave the Rams an opportunity to see how the team cope without their incumbent Player of the Year.

Derby started the game in similar circumstances as their previous fixture; with some highly debatable refereeing. DJ Campbell, starting following his last gasp equaliser at the weekend, was denied an early penalty. The forward was clearly brought down by Preston keeper Lonergan as he raced into the Preston box. Later on Preston were guilty of some poor finishing as they edged the first half. Sam Parkin fired over from close range whilst Ross Wallace hit the cross bar with a fantastic free kick from over 25 yards out.

Preston continued the barrage of shots in the second half as Neil Mellor forced a sublime save from Stephen Bywater. Derby grew in strength as the match wore on and DJ Campbell’s header was millimetres away from opening the scoreline as his header struck the underside of the crossbar. Callum Davidson was similarly unlucky as he hit the post from close range in the dying seconds.

Derby fans should feel proud of their team for another passionate display and valuable point. Deepdale is a notoriously difficult place to pick up even a point and fans will be delighted with Derby’s defence finally keeping a clean sheet away. As the Rams enter an important and hectic Christmas schedule Nigel Clough will be pleased Derby’s defence frailties are becoming less frequent. Clough will be hoping the Rams can pick up another point this Saturday at Vicarage Road.

Derby last played West Brom in ‘that’ game at Wembley; since then both teams have had spells in the top league and are now just about in the same position as three years ago. The Baggies came into today’s game as hot favourites, once again challenging for promotion, but the Super Rams proved that they should never be underestimated on home turf.

This scintillating tie began at ferocious pace. The Rams burst out of the blocks keen to make an early mark; a low cross from Dean Moxey caused Scott Carson a headache as Hulse charged down his spillage. Unfortunately the Derby man was unable get there in time, but the tone had been set for the game.

West Brom took on Derby’s initiative and began to show just why they were challenging at the right half of the table. Some of the football they played was exquisite and easily the best seen at Pride park this season. It was however not enough to fluster the Rams who matched everything West Brom threw at them with well timed tackles and blocks.

The game took a testy turn on the half hour mark when Savage brought down Dorrans in a 50:50 challenge, the WBA youngster then appeared to kick out at Savage whilst still on the ground. All hell let loose. In a ruckus involving most players on the pitch the referee came perilously close to losing control of the game, his failure to spot the Dorrans kick was to prove one of many poor decisions made against both sides today.

Spurred on by the injustice Derby surged forward with Teale volleying the ball wide and then threatening again almost immediately after. The Scottish international fired a free kick towards goal, but was thwarted by a deflection and Carson’s acrobatics as he dived to push the ball over the bar.

Derby’s efforts were rewarded just shy of half time as the fantastic Dickov beat his man to get a shot in; the ball deflected off Olsson looping upwards off the underside of the bar and into the back of the net.

The second half continued in a similar end-to-end fashion. Derby came close to doubling their lead on the hour mark when the unusually anonymous Rob Hulse held the ball up well in the WBA box and fired a shot in on goal only to see it blocked by a West Brom defender.

West Brom desperate to take something home seemed to change up a gear as they began to bombard Derby with constant waves of attack. The encouragement from the Baggie’s travelling support intensified with 15 minutes to go when the appearance of former Villa man Lee Hendrie sent them into the fermenting rage of a rabid mongrel.

After holding on for so long the Rams finally relented with just 8 minutes on the clock; Chris Brunt played a deft ball across the six-yard box into the path of Simon Cox who deflected the ball into the net with his arm. Derby were furious, but the goal stood.

DJ Cambell replaced fellow Leicester loanee Dickov to make his debut in black and white. The pacey striker did well to maintain possession and almost created a winner as he set up Hulse from 18 yards. Campbell impressed again as a fought to keep the ball in play deep in West Brom’s half, but his efforts were ill rewarded as West Brom immediately broke and took the lead through a well crafted shot from Dorrans. Thousands of Pride Park hearts sank, and the shuffle towards exits began with immediate effect. As cries of ‘Hendrie, Hendrie what’s the score?’ rang out from the South Stand the man himself raced down field to latch onto long ball to set up DJ Campbell who headed Derby into Elysium.

BEAUTIFUL

Derby entered the international break on a high following an impressive 3-0 victory against Sheffield Wednesday at home.  The Rams bounced back from the 6-1 mauling against Cardiff City and looked in good form for a trip to the Walkers Stadium to face East Midlands rivals Leicester.  Injuries had looked set to disturb the Derby back four, with Leacock and Buxton still in recovery and news Barker was rumoured to be on the sidelines for a considerable length of time.  Jay McEveley was temporarily the only fit centre back in the first team squad.  Luckily, both Leacock and Barker miraculously made the starting 11 and proved to be the stars of what turned out to be a lacklustre derby.

Leicester started the first half the brightest, dominating possession and plying constant pressure on the Derby back 4.  Prolific scorer Matt Fryatt caused problems in the 10^th minute following a darting run into the Derby area but produced a tame effort easily held by Stephen Bywater.  The Foxes continued to dominate without making the crucial breakthrough, Andy King came close with a long range effort just the wrong side of the top corner.

Derby woke up in the second half and played a more offensive game.  The best chance of the match came from Derby midfielder Kris Commons who curled a stunning shot onto the cross-bar.  Controversy struck both teams late on, Derby being denied two penalty shouts for fouls on Rob Hulse.  Meanwhile Leicester fans were jubilant just before the whistle as ex-Ram Matt Oakley placed the ball into the back of the net seemingly scoring a last-gasp winner.  The linesman saved the day however, signaling offside at ensuring Derby earnt a hard earned point.

The Rams will be pleased to make the short journey back to Derby with a point.  Whilst some fans may be unhappy at the negativity of Clough’s 4-5-1 formation, given the clubs injury crisis up front (Davies, Porter et al.) and the attacking prowess of Leicester City’s front 2; Clough must be praised for his shrewd tactics.  In fact fans might feel hard done by just to leave with a single point following the penalty appeals.  The defence stability from today’s game will need to replicated on Tuesday night as Derby face Middlesbrough at the Riverside.

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 edged onto 46 points after a hard fought draw against second from bottom Southampton. 

The first half of this evening kickoff was a gnarly affair with neither side taking control of the game.  Hulse and Teale both came close at times for the Rams but neither were able to keep their attempts on target.  For the Saints Jason Euell shot beyond the Bywater’s far post, whilst Saganowski forced the Derby keeper into a save with a shot not long before half time. 

After the interval the Rams came out brightly with a series of swift attacking movements.  This play however was not to bear fruits and Derby found themselves behind on 59 minutes to the most bizarre of goals.  Jason Euell nodded Gillet’s corner down for Chris Perry to smash his shot into the underside of the cross bar, the ball bounced back into play only to hit the unlucky Todd and rebound into the Derby net. 

In an effort to find the elusive equaliser Derby brought Steve Davies on in place of Hulse.  Davies looked bright from the off; making an immediate impact with a looping header forcing a save on the line from Southampton’s Davis, and shortly after finding the net to even things up.  Albrechtsen found himself in a shooting position after a lay off from Savage, however his scuffed shot was driven across the box instead of towards the net, it was Davies who reacted first blasting the ball home from less than six yards. 

Davies thought he had won the game for the Rams late on.  His darting run took him past Jan-Paul Saeijs before unleashing a beautiful curling shot which having beat the Saint’s keeper was denied by the woodwork as it rebounded off the inside of the far post.  

Derby had a difficult week ahead of them this week with two very important Cup fixtures lined up. After Man Utd knocked Derby out of the Carling Cup on Tuesday night, Derby had to concentrate on beating arch rivals Nottingham Forest to progress to the 5th round of the FA Cup.

Both sides fought hard though it was Derby who took the lead in the first half. Paul Green smartly dummied a shot on goal, instead passing to Paul Connolly who crossed for Rob Hulse to fire home.

The tense match continued in the second half, both Derby and Forest working hard to beat the others. After 63 minutes though, Forest pretty much mimicked Derby’s maneouvres from the first half when Nathan Tyson‘s dummied Derby’s defence, allowing Robert Earnshaw the chance to finish from eight yards.

The game finished 1-1 forcing the return replay the other end of Brian Clough Way at the City Ground, scheduled for Wednesday 4th February 2009. Nigel Clough will be looking forward to his travels, visiting his old team and, hopefully, putting one over them.

Charlton Athletic have had quite a bad run of late without a win at home in 13 games and were determined to at least get a point out of today’s game, if not all three. But Derby were also willing to make that quite difficult.

It was Charlton striker Andy Gray who commenced scoring with a neat goal in the 34th minute and that was all to be seen in the first hour.

After 64 minutes though, Jose Vitor Semedo couldn’t help but handball in the box giving Nathan Ellington the opportunity to take Derby level. As expected, he converted the penalty.

It wasn’t long before Charlton’s Martin Waghorn gave the home side another lead when he whacked in another goal after just two minutes.

Derby looked to have been beaten with the final whistle approaching but Mr Ellington grabbed a late 94th minute opportunity to take the scores level, snatching a point from Charlton and another point to Derby’s campaign.

With Ipswich stunting their progress in the Championship at the weekend, Derby were keen to get back on track with their successful campaign.

Rob Hulse was first on the score sheet after smashing in a belter to give Derby the lead.

Preston were quick to respond though when Callum Davidson converted a penalty after Emanuel Villa took Ross Wallace down in the box.

Preston managed to get another past Carroll when Neil Mellor struck from 18 yards but Derby’s Jordan Stewart went one up on him with a huge long-distance volley, taking the scores level.

After the break, Derby seemed to be the stronger side for the first 25 minutes with plenty of opportunities being thrown at Andy Lonergan but struggled to break the deadlock.

End result – two goals and a point each.

With five Premiership teams in the line-up – including Arsenal, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspurs, Blackburn and Stoke City – chances were on Derby had a tough game ahead with some tough competition. Saying that, Burnley did the Championship teams proud earlier in the week by beating current holders Chelsea in a nail-biting penalty shoot-out. It was anybody’s cup now!

So imagine our delight when fellow Midlanders Stoke City got pulled from the draw just before our beloved Derby County.

The clash will be held at Britannia Stadium on Tuesday 2nd December 2008 at 7.45pm. Ticket details are still to be finalised but you can be sure thousands of Derby fans will be heading up the A50 to Stoke that evening for a night of goals, tears and celebrations (hopefully, in favour of Derby).

Come on you Potters – we’ll have you!