Derby have faced Manchester United three times this season, all in crucial Cup fixtures. It took a tense return leg for Man Utd to beat Derby in the Carling Cup so hopes were high for Derby to improve on their previous attempt against the world’s finest.

Man Utd dominate the game from the off with two strong efforts from Darren Fletcher and Ji-Sung Park but it was Nani who broke the deadlock after 29 minutes with a ferocious shot from 20 yards.

It looked like Cristiano Ronaldo had doubled the lead shortly after but, thankfully, the ref disallowed his attempt after a long debate with the linesman.

Unfortunately, Darron Gibson succeeded in doubling the lead just before half time, volleying in his effort from 18 yards.

After the break, it was much of the same. Man Utd were the dominating side while Derby pushed hard with little return.

It didn’t take long for Ronaldo to extend Man Utd’s lead, nodding in a third for Man Utd, essentially hitting the nail in the coffin for Derby.

In the 56th minute, Miles Addison threw Derby a lifeline after Robbie Savage took a quick free kick, Kris Commons centering it for Addison to head in, taking the score to 3-1.

This gave Derby the confidence to power forward, knowing they were capable of taking the scores level from recent efforts. Gary Teale kept breaking the Man Utd defence for the following 30 minutes but Derby failed to show any creativity in the box.

It was Danny Wellbeck who had the final say though. Fletcher flicked the ball to the left for Wellbeck to curl straight past Bywater.

That, they say, is the end of that chapter. Derby have had quite successful Cup campaigns this season and have only been beaten by the team who are looking to take all five trophies this season. It’s not a bad way to bow out.

Now it’s time to concentrate on the more important league and work our way out of the bottom half of the table. First up, Blackpool!

After Kris Commons gave Derby the edge over Manchester United in the first leg of the Carling Cup, expectations were high for a similar performance on their return journey to Old Trafford. Nigel Clough’s first game in charge against QPR wasn’t particularly successful so there was a lot of pressure on the Super Rams.

It didn’t take long for Man Utd to level the scores when striker Nani punched a ferocious strike past Roy Carroll in the 16th minute.

That wasn’t the end of it neither. Man Utd were keen to show Derby who was boss with John O’Shea and Carlos Tevez both firing home goals past Derby’s broken defence in the first half, essentially wrapping up the tie.

After the break, Derby came back out with a stronger attitude. Clough had obviously inspired the boys with some harsh words and it showed. There were quite a few oppotunities when Derby looked to recoup their losses, slipping through Man Utd’s defence and retaliating on the break.

In the 80th minute, Derby were thrown a life line when Paul Green was brought down in the box from an injured Jonny Evans. Substitute Giles Barnes took decided to take the responsibility and rightly so – it was 3-2 with 10 minutes left to play.

Nine minutes later, Caroll foolishly bought down Tevez in the box, allowing Cristiano Ronaldo to hammer home another for Man Utd.

That didn’t stop Derby fighting though. Barnes stepped up for a free kick during injury time and proved why he is such a star striker, whacking another past Foster, handing Derby one last chance of taking it to extra time.

But it wasn’t to be. The whistle was blown and Derby’s dream of a trip to Wembley crumbled away.

Regardless of the defeat, Derby proved they are capable of some astonishing performances. At times, they were the stronger team against England’s finest. Man Utd could never take that pride away from Derby.

The game had huge coverage in the media today and rightly so – this was a massive game for Derby. Not only were they facing one of the biggest clubs in the World nor was it the furthest they’ve progressed in the League Cup for over 40 years but the new manager Nigel Clough was watching before taking the reigns on Thursday.

The first half was quite a level affair. Derby looked strong with several chances on goal while Man Utd struggled to conjure up any special chances.

It was in the 30th minute when the magic happened – Kris Commons managed to collect a ball from Mile Sterjovski, ran on to Man Utd’s defence, whacking a beauty of a strike into the far corner from 25 yards. Derby took the lead 1-0 and held that score for the entire first half with little to worry about from Man Utd.

In the second half, it was Man Utd who upped the ante but struggled to create anything special. They were the stronger side for a lot of the half but Derby still pushed on with quite a few spurts of energy, really pushing the Man Utd defence at times.

There was even an opportunity for Rob Hulse to take Derby 2-0 up on the break from a Man Utd challenge but it was knocked over the bar by Roy Carroll during one of his few required efforts.

Cristiano Ronaldo nearly converted a free kick for United in the second half but went a few inches wide to the Rams fan’s delight.

The “shock” win couldn’t have come at a better time – no doubt the presence of our next manager guided the team to their first leg victory. With two of our strongest players not even present and such a fantastic performance, Clough is probably glad he made the decision to leave Burton Albion at the weekend.

The return leg at Old Trafford is on Tuesday 20th January, kicking off at 7.45pm and will be broadcast live on Sky Sports 1. We don’t need to tell you to tune in, do we?

After beating Stoke at the Britannia Stadium in a gruelling yet rewarding quarter-final last week, Derby were on a high. They have not reached the semi-final stages of the League Cup since 1968 – 40 years ago – you can imagine the elation from the squad after such a nail-biting finish.

So when the draw for the Semi Finals were announced on Sky Sports’ Soccer Saturday this weekend, you can imagine the exhilieration from Pride Park when they saw Manchester United picked to travel to Pride Park for the first leg.

The first clash will happen on the week commencing January 5th, 2009, dependent on other fixtures but having the upper hand of starting at home will certainly give Derby that much needed support. Thousands and thousands of Ram fans will be packing out Pride Park to see their heroes take on Alex Ferguson’s mighty United, in vein hope of a worthy result.

Ticket information will be announced soon so keep your eyes and ears open for the big sale.

Update: the fixtures have been finalised today: the first leg will be at 7.45pm on Wednesday 7th January 2009 and the return leg at Old Trafford on Tuesday 20th January 2009, kicking off at the slightly later 8pm. The League Cup Final will be held at Wembley on Sunday 1st March 2009.

SuperRams – the one-off movie – will be showcased at 5pm on Sunday 28th September 2008.

SuperRams is a fantastic compilation of Derby County’s classic footballing moments dating from the 1946 FA Cup Final win against Charlton, beating Manchester United in the 1970 Cup Final, the team celebrating league championship win in 1972 and beating Real Madrid in 1975.

The screening will also include a full episode of ‘Cloughies Golden Oldies’ a 1987 series in which Brian Clough looked back at great football matches. The programme was compiled by Philip Leach, archivist and curator at MACE (Media Archive Of Central England).

Introduced by Simon Groom with appearances by several ex-Derby players such as Roy McFarland, Roger Davies and Reg Harrison.

- SuperRams (E) on Derby QUAD

It’s all part of Derby Festé – a weekend of spectacular events to mark the opening of QUAD, Derby’s new centre for art and film, on the Market Place in Derby from Friday 26th to Sunday 28th September 2008.

Book your tickets online or call the QUAD Box office on 01332 290606.