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’s loss to Swansea made it 4 losses in 5 for the Rams and left the club precariously close to the drop zone.  Add to that the unbelievable rise of arch-rivals Nottingham Forest and it has been a difficult few weeks for Derby fans.  Nigel Clough attempted to address Derby’s downfall by bolstering the front-line with the loan signing of DJ Campbell in mid-week as the Ram hoped to put an end to their unpleasant run.

Jobi McAnuff almost spelt disaster for the Rams in the opening minutes as the ex-Watford man fashioned a chance out of nothing from 25 yards that just missed the left post.  Derby’s first chance fell to to in-form striker Rob Hulse who fired a header straight into the arms of Federici.  Jay McEveley shot just wide just before the break to put an end to a half fairly bereft of chances; ultimately paying testament to the struggling forms of both clubs.

Brendan Rodgers half-time team talk had an immediate impact as Reading opened the second half with a goal.  A misplaced pass from Shaun Barker put Derby on the back foot and Jay Tabb found Sigurdsson on the edge of the area to squeeze home the opener.  Derby response marked the confidence of team much higher than their league position suggests as the Rams tied the game within just 4 minutes.  Gary Teale capped off a fast-paced Derby break with a sumptuous cross across the box that was duly converted by Paul Green; his second of the campaign.  Derby’s winner took an almost identical form; defender Jay McEveley providing the cross this time for Rob Hulse to slide home.  Reading did try and mount a comeback, Shaun Barker atoned for his earlier misdeeds with a last ditch block late on and McAnuff shot just wide.  However, their fate was compounded with the sending off of Shane Long late on following an ugly lunge on Derby loanee Fredrik Stoor.

Derby enter the important Christmas fixture list on the back of a promising victory; not only has the Rams impressive home form continued but the team looks rejuvenated with the return from injury of midfield duo Paul Green and Stephen Pearson.  Add to that the on loan signing of DJ Campbell and hopefully Derby fans may have a reason for some Christmas cheer this holiday season.  Still, Pride Park hosts free scoring West Brom on Saturday which will undoubtedly be the Rams biggest test at home this season.

Derby came in to Friday’s game in a run of dismal form: as if 3 straight defeats were not bad enough, the Rams became the first unfortunate victims to fall to Roy Keane’s much-maligned Ipswich Town.  Despite the recent lack of success, Derby fans had some optimism in the return to fitness of frontman Rob Hulse and midfielders Stephen Pearson and Paul Green.

Derby got off to the worst possible start as Chris Coleman’s men quickly punished some sloppy Rams defending.  Leon Best was first to react to a poor Bywater punch to volley a left footed shot drive into the net just before the 5 minute mark.  Derby fashioned the better of the other first half chances, Dean Leacock and Rob Hulse both firing just wide of the target.  Derby also had a strong penalty claim turned down as Shaun Barker was chopped down in the box.  Derby’s bad luck was compounded just before the break as on loan striker Paul Dickov astonishingly fired over from 6 yards out.

Dickov promptly atoned for his mistake however turning provider just after the restart.  Dickov curled over a sumptuous ball from the left finding Rob Hulse with space between the Coventry centre backs; Hulse made no mistake and placed the ball smartly past Konstantopoulos.  Derby completed the turnaround with some impressive play again by the forward partnership.  Paul Dickov chased what seemed like a lost cause before producing a remarkable ball from wide right that was driven in by Hulse.  The second half was not without controversy however as Coventry right back Jordan Clarke picked up a sending off following a challenge on Robbie Savage.  Replays showed little contact and some Oscar worthy theatrics from the Derby captain.  In the final stages Hulse was denied his hatrick following a penalty miss after Lee Croft was brought down In the box.

Whilst Derby fans may have felt disappointed with the lack of endeavour shown in the first half, the Rams showed a resilience in the second half notably lacking in recent defeats.  Whilst the team still looks uncomfortable at the back and often fail to retain possession with an array misplaced passes, fans can take heart in a much needed 3 points that see the Rams edge closer away from the drop zone.  Much optimism can also be found in the budding partnership of veteran Dickov and current fans player of the year Rob Hulse and the two look set to retain their places as the Rams travel to Swansea on the 20^th November.

Wear it white night turned into a murky shade of grey as Derby threw away a 2-0 lead in emphatic style with the BBC cameras broadcasting every moment of the embarrassment to the nation.

Derby actually started brighter of the two sides, and other than an early scare courtesy of Jay Simpson they were deserved of the lead gained on the ninth minute. A quick thinking Robbie Savage spotted veteran striker Paul Dickov unmarked in the box; a quickly taken free kick and a well placed shot later the ball was firmly in the back of the net.

As the game opened up both sides created chances in an end to end battle that served perfectly as an advertisement for Championship level football.  Things got even better for the Rams on 36 minutes; Paul Dickov showed his experience winning a free kick on the edge of the Rangers’ box. Savage stepped up to curl a beautifully taken free kick into Cerny’s top corner; they don’t get much better than that!

Unfortunately this was the peak of the game, so far as the Rams were concerned. The Rangers’ fight back began almost instantly; an extremely soft free kick awarded 25 yards out was converted with a low drive from Tarrabt, with a curl taking the ball round the Derby wall out beyond the post before tucking just into the lower corner of Bywater’s goal.  The free kick whilst impressive raised several questions about the positioning of Derby’s wall and whether such a feat should have been allowed to happen in the first place.

QPR burst out of the blocks after the break, equalising in less than two minutes. The ever impressive Routledge controlled the ball at the back post to set up Mahon to fire home from close range.

Derby were stunned and it showed in their play. Dickov had dropped back into midfield and as a result the Rams appeared impotent in attack. By the hour mark the Rams were behind.

Davies and Pearson returned to action for the Rams, and did have some immediate effect. Their added pace and enthusiasm threatened to turn a limp second half from Derby into a contest, but fate didn’t prevail. Instead the Rams found themselves 4-2 down in the final minute of the game. A QPR penalty was converted by Hungarian striker Ákos Buzsáky, from here there was no come back for the Rams.

As the white T’shirts given out to fans before the match rained down onto the pitch like rotten tomatoes, the Rams were left wondering where it all went wrong.

Sheffield Wednesday probably fancied their chances upon their visit to Pride Park; the Rams had only managed to muster up three points from the previous six games, a run of form that can only be described as abysmal. Football however is an unpredictable game and despite capitulating midweek at Cardiff the Rams side which turned out today were a formidable force that returned an emphatic victory against their South Yorkshire visitors.

Derby’s side still ravaged by the injury plague affecting the club saw two changes from the side defeated so heavily at Cardiff; veteran striker Paul Dickov made his first start for the club, and Jay McEveley returned to action as a make shift centre back.

The Rams looked sharp right from the off, playing smart effective football. Rob Hulse came close twice within the first ten minutes; raging past the offside trap latching onto the through ball Livermore only to see Darren Purse get back in time to remove the danger, and then a header that with some more power may well have had the ex-Ram Lee Grant beaten in the Owl’s goal.

Derby’s positive play was rewarded on the 17^th minute. Paul Dickov showed his experience in the Wednesday box by shrugging off his marker with a deft turn before crossing to the unmarked Croft whose volley crashed off the underside of the bar and into the net.

Derby should have been two up just minutes later as Dean Moxey beat the defence only to fire his shot wide of far post.

The Rams looked confident going forward but also seemed able to soak up the Wednesday pressure at the back; surviving several attacks and a goal mouth scramble which ultimately resulted James O’Connor firing wide.

Derby doubled their lead just after the hour mark with an excellent shot from the charging Jay McEveley.  The centre back surprised everybody as he sprinted the length of the pitch to latch onto a ball from Lee Croft on the edge of the Wednesday box.

Victory was sealed by an injury time penalty converted by Rob Hulse; the Derby striker had been bundled down inside the box by Wood leaving the referee with no choice but to award a penalty to the Rams.

The importance of this win cannot be underestimated; as well putting the ghosts of recent weeks to bed, it sent the Rams into the international break on a high. Derby return to action in two weeks with a crunch tie at the Crisp Bowl.

Derby came into this game off the back of two disappointing defeats; a home game against bottom of the table Barnsley should have been the perfect antidote.  Instead the Rams found themselves struggling to contain this supposedly weaker opposition.

The game started brightly for the Rams, as the momentum of the game swung in their favour. Rob Hulse twice came close to putting the Rams ahead; firstly with a shot deflected wide behind the goal, and then an agonisingly close cross from Commons which Hulse failed to make contact with.

On the 27^th minute Hulse was rewarded for his work; an inch perfect cross from Lee Croft out wide on the wing found the head of the charging Hulse just inside the six-yard box, he couldn’t miss.

Unfortunately for the Rams this marked the high point of the evening. Just 10 minutes later the visitors were level; a superb strike from Hammill from 20 yards curled past the finger tips of a helpless Bywater and into the Derby net.

No fan from any club can bemoan the opposition a goal of such high class as Hammill’s, however Barnsley’s second of the game was lamented from all sectors of the Pride Park crowd.  Just short of the hour mark Commons was fouled in the Barnsley half, the Derby players expecting a free kick all stopped in their tracks; instead the referee waived play on allowing Barnsley to break. The move was finished by Andy Gray’s calm finish past Bywater after being fed in by Emil Hallfredsson.

The game ended in a flurry of goals; with eight minutes injury time added the Rams were pushing hard for an equaliser, this however left them heavily exposed at the back. With little way of a challenge Barnsley sub   managed exactly this and found himself in the Derby box with just Bywater to beat, easily rounding the Derby keeper he slid the ball coolly into the net to make it three for the night and surely bag up three points to take back to Yorkshire.

The Rams weren’t yet finished and did manage to pull one back to save some face.  Defender Shaun Barker jumped highest to meet Teale’s corner.

All in all this was yet another disappointing result for the Rams, and whilst the standard of football is infinitely higher than this time last year they need to begin to ground out some positive results, beginning in South London on Saturday.

Derby fans entered the international break downbeat following the 3-2  defeat to local rivals Nottingham Forest and the disconcerting aftermath to which both sides have been duly fined.  Following a relatively comfortable start to the season, including a number of relegation candidates, Derby faced their sternest test of the season in the form of defeated playoff contenders Sheffield United.  Summer signing Shaun Barker replaced the quietly impressive Jake Buxton at centre-back whilst midfield pair Paul Green and Lee Croft came in for Tottenham loanee Jake Livermore and under-fire Kris Commons.

Sheffield United dominated the opening stages.  Keith Tracey, on loan from Premier League side Blackburn Rovers, looked very threatening as he fashioned a number of chances, one inches away from Bywater’s left post.  The Blades pressure culminated mid way through the first half as ex-Chesterfield striker Jamie Ward benefitted from some poor defending from Addison, forcing a smart save from Bywater.  The ball rebounded to the feet of Darius Henderson who made no mistake from just outside the 6 yard box.  The Blades celebrations were cut short as a seemingly dubious offside was called and the goal was chalked off.

Whilst the Blades had dominated play in the first half it was Derby who started the better in the second.  Gary Teale continued his notable form, playing a key role in a number of Derby chances.  Hulse failed to convert two headed opportunities whilst Teale himself hit the woodwork with a fortunate cross-come-shot.  The introduction of Kris Commons in the 72nd minute maintained the Derby momentum as the Scottish international put some threatening balls into the box.  Despite all the Derby promise it was the Blades who ended the match victorious as Kilgallon looped a header in from a Keith Treacy free kick, Barker guilty of a needless tackle close the Rams corner flag.  Jamie Ward would have doubled their lead in injury time had Bywater not superbly saved the fierce strike.

Nigel Clough was quick to highlight Shaun Barker (on his first league start) for criticism for lashing out at Stephen Quinn close to the corner flag.  Whilst Clough may feel aggrieved by the manner of the defeat and especially the goal, Derby fans maybe feeling obliged to question the team’s intentions given the 4-5-1 formation being employed by Clough at Pride Park.  The return of Chris Porter in the Winter will hopefully see a turn to more attacking styles of play, especially as the Rams seemed fixated with the long ball to Hulse.  Not only was this out of sorts for the Clough side but notably fruitless against the central partnership of Morgan and Kilgallon.

Despite a run of two losses and the first defeat at home this season, Derby fans still have reason for optimism as Dean Leacock and Steve Davies edge closer to full fitness.  The Derby faithful will expect a full 3 points come Tuesday evening as Derby face bottom club Barnsley at Pride Park.

Derby’s season opener witnessed what the media labelled the battle of the ‘greats’, Clough Jnr vs. Ferguson Jnr.  Both promising young managers, burdened with the baggage of their fathers managerial success; the opening game of the season was the ideal opportunity to improve their standing.  Clough was notably the more apprehensive of the two given the fitness concerns of attacking duo Kris Commons and Rob Hulse and the disappointing news Chris Porter would be on the sidelines for the foreseeable future.  Thus, Steve Davies earned himself the lone striker role following his impressive pre-season form.

However it was centre-back Miles Addison, back in the side following an injury plagued finale to the previous season, who opened the scoring, nodding in a headed pass from Jake Buxton.  Paul Green deserved credit for his vision following a delightful ball in from the left.  The width offered by Croft and Teale lead to a first half dominated by Derby, flaunting a passing game one would expect to see at the Emirates rather than Pride Park.  Crucially however, a second goal failed to materialise.

Peterborough battled back valiantly in the second half with Mclean and Mackail-Smith fashioning chances but Derby looked firmly in control.  It took a moment of madness from goalkeeper Stephen Bywater to gift Peterborough a lifeline, needlessly fouling Shaun Batt in the penalty area, duly converted by George Boyd.

Pride Park was momentarily silenced before Gary Teale scored a fortuitous winner, poking the ball under keeper Joe Lewis following a goalmouth scramble.  Kris Commons should have made it three but was exceptionally thwarted one on one by England Under-21 Joe Lewis.

Derby fans can rejoice the club has finally broken the run of failing to win on the opening day of the season, a run stretching back to the victory over Reading in 2002.  Further optimism can be found in the performance of controversial lower league signings Jake Buxton and Dean Moxey.  Both had solid debuts in front of the imposing 33,000 at Pride Park, as did ex-Norwich winger Lee Croft who made a number of threatening crosses in the first half.

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.

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.