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.

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.

Following on from the much-needed clean sheet at Blackpool, Derby hosted Plymouth at Pride Park, a side who had failed to beat the Rams in their previous 6 attempts.  With the return of key players Commons and Hulse, the outlook for Derby was bright.  However, concerns about the fitness of both Commons and Hulse meant Steve Davies lead the line, the starting 11 the same as the previous home match to Peterborough with the exception of Tottenham loanee Jake Livermore who replaced the unfit Paul Green.

Plymouth started the brightest, dominating possession but crucially lacking in the final third.  It took a lunge from new signing Jake Buxton for Plymouth to make the breakthrough, chopping down Alain Judge on the edge of the area.  Whilst the penalty itself was debatable, Clough highlighting the proximity to the edge of the box in his post-game interview, the finish was resolute.

The first goal seemed to spark Derby into life.  The Rams began to create numerous openings, Miles Addison making the most of a Teale Corner only to be denied by some shrewd goal line defending.  It wasn’t until just before the break they finally drew level, Jake Buxton making amends for conceding the penalty with an astute finish from just outside the 6-yard box following a scrappy goalmouth scramble.

The second half began with a concerning leg injury to Steve Davies.  Following a promising pre-season it’s a bitter blow to lose Davies, especially given injury plagued his debutant season with the Rams.  His replacement Hulse performed well as lone striker and set up numerous chances that Derby failed to capitalise on.  The game seemed destined for a draw until the final stages.  Alain Judge missed a gilt-edged chance for Plymouth, firing over following a fast counter attack. In the final seconds Derby responded with an incredible Miles Addison header from a Gary Teale corner, yet another well worked set piece

Derby finish the opening 4 games with an impressive 7 points from a possible 12.  However, the promising start must be taken with a pinch of salt as all the opposition so far are heavily touted as relegation candidates and undoubtedly Derby face much more difficult ties ahead; none other than a trip to the City Ground next weekend.

The Carling Cup was good to Derby County fans last season.  The impressive victory against Premier League Stoke and first leg triumph over Manchester United, the then European Champions, was undoubtedly one of the highlights of the football calendar.  Nigel Clough recognised this and assured Derby County fans that the strongest side possible would be fielded, but an injury to Steve Davies early on and an international call up to Kris Commons left Derby’s frontline worryingly thin.

Gary Teale deputised as the lone striker and started brightly, scoring in the 11th minute following a well-crafted cutback from Lee Croft.  However, that goal proved to be the peak for Derby. Teale struggled to cope with Rotherham’s physicality and cut an isolated figure up front.  Rotherham’s momentum built up as the first half drew on and they were rewarded with an equaliser as Paul Warne struck home on the stroke of half time.  The Derby defence failed to clear a Rotherham long ball by Jamie Green and journeyman Warne intuitively poached his second goal of the season.  Nigel Clough singled out centre back Miles Addison for criticism citing his lack of aerial prowess.

Things went from bad to worse in the second half as Kevin Ellison added the final touch to a fast Rotherham break, Warne capping off his impressive display with an assist.  Derby responded with a barrage of shots but Rotherham survived the onslaught with some resolute defending.   Dean Moxey fired just inches wide seconds before the final whistle.

Defeat to the league 2 side brings Derby crashing back to reality following the performance against Peterborough.  A series of sloppy mistakes at the back and an injury prone frontline leaves a sour taste of familiarity.  One can only hope the Rams can improve away to Scunthorpe on Saturday or else I feel another season of lower table struggle may be looming.

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.  

The Rams fielded an unchanged side for the visit of Swansea City, but once again found themselves stifled in their quest for three points. 

Both sides made bright starts to the game, however it was Derby who were to take the lead. Robbie Savage was denied a repeat of his stunning free kick at Doncaster midweek by an excellent block from keeper Dorus de Vries, the rebound was met by Chris Porter who slid the ball in for his first Derby goal. 

The Rams continued to push forward and on 19 minutes counted themselves unlucky to have a penalty claim turned down by referee Phil Crossley; Rob Hulse had been charging down on goal only to be brought down by de Vries.  Within the minute Hulse was once again cursing his luck after a close range effort knocked in from the cross of Steve Davies was ruled out for offside. 

Derby were to double their lead shortly after the restart; Chris Porter grabbing his second of the game after latching onto Paul Connolly’s long clearance to coolly place the ball past de Vries following a one on one with the Swansea keeper.  

The Rams however despite all their efforts were unable to hold onto their lead. Angel Rangel pulled one back for the visitors; volleying Gomez’s free kick off the post and into the net. With Pintado scoring off the bar with two minutes left on the clock to make it all square. 

Derby still did not give up the cause, having already hit the woodwork twice courtesy of Teale and Davies the Rams went close again to sealing the tie up only to see Paul Green’s rasping volley turned over the crossbar. 

A rain soaked Pride Park crowd saw a strong performance from a Derby side who were on the night unable to overcome Swansea’s stylish play, however this certainly was not a performance to get downhearted over, and if the Rams play like this in the coming weeks then Championship survival is all but secured.  

Matches between these old rivals require little in the way of introduction at the best of times, but add Derby’s FA cup comeback just a fortnight ago into the mix and the intensity is taken up a notch.  This fixture is as much about pride as it is three points. 

The Rams, keen not to let the occasion spoil their recent winning streak were first out of the blocks, and in less than five minutes Lewin Nyatanga was able to put the Rams one up volleying Kris Commons’ free kick into the bottom corner. 

Derby were dealt yet another injury blow to accompany those picked up at Coventry midweek as Nacer Barazite was replaced by Sterjovski on 15 minutes after being forced off with a dislocated shoulder.    

Despite going behind early it was Forest who were to have the better chances for the remainder of the first half, with Earnshaw twice lifting the ball over Bywater’s bar. 

Having used half time to regroup the Rams came out fired up and with barely a minute of the second half on the clock had doubled their lead.  Once again the goal came from a set-piece; this time crossed in by Robbie Savage and glanced goalwards by Hulse with a deft header on the edge of the six yard box. 

If a state of euphoria had not already been reached amongst the hordes of travelling Derby supporters then it certainly was by the 62^nd minute when Rob Hulse was pushed in the box by Forest captain James Perch.  The resulting penalty was tucked away by Steve Davies to make it three to the Rams. 

Having already used all three substitutions Derby were forced to finish the game with ten men as Jay McEveley like Barazite suffered with his shoulder. 

With the extra man Forest again applied the pressure, eventually pulling one back through Earnshaw who headed down into the Derby net.  

This proved to be only a consolation as Derby walked away with their heads held high.  It had been over thirty years since a Derby victory at the City Ground and with two now in as many weeks things are certainly looking on to be on the up!

With Derby County making excellent progress in the less popular Carling Cup – facing Manchester United in the semi-final later in the week – any success in the FA Cup was just the icing on the cake. Nonetheless, facing non-league Forest Green shouldn’t have been a huge problem.

Unfortunately, things didn’t start out as well as expected.

Forest Green’s Jonathan Smith and Alex Lawless managed to give the home side a two goal lead within 20 minutes, indicating early signs of a shock win for the underdogs.

It took until the 40th minute for Derby to retaliate when Rob Hulse headed in Kris Commons‘ cross as well as a leveller from Martin Albrechtsen before the half time whistle.

The second half was just as exciting, if a little tense.

Forest Green took another lead when Paul Stonehurst took them ahead again in the 72nd minute but, thankfully, it only four minutes for Derby’s Paul Green to equalise again.

It wasn’t until the dying 87th minute when Steve Davies was rewarded a penalty which he quickly converted past Darren Jones, taking Derby into the 4th round of the FA Cup.

Let’s hope Derby don’t play such a stressful game against Man Utd in the week – this could kill some Derby fans!

Derby have been on a good run over the last four games, mostly drawing but at least with the teams who are heading up the Championship this season.

So with BBC Radio Five Live Extra covering the game when there were numerous Champions League qualifiers simultaneously being played, the media obviously thought it would be an interesting result from two relegatees from the Premiership last season.

Unfortunately, activity was rather limited.

Derby keeper Roy Carroll saved a strong effort from Mehdi Nafti in the first minute, denying the travellers an early lead.

But in the 26th minute, Birmingham’s Quincy Owusu-Abeyie fired in a worthy shot to take the Blues into a lead for the majority of the game.

Miles Addison and Paul Green were the only efforts for Derby that looked to take the home side level but the deadlock was finally broken in the 87th minute when Steve Davies fired home a late goal to give Derby their 5th game unbeaten.