For Those who Could not Attend

Season 2018/2019

For Those Who Could Not Attend
Blackburn Rovers - Tues Sep 18th 2018
Crowd 23,580
Referee - Darren England
Team :-
Carson, Bogle, Keogh, Tomori, Forsyth
Johnson
Bryson, Mount
Bennett, Nugent, Marriott.
Conditions. Pitch immaculate, damp windy and warm.

“It’s a warm wind, the West Wind full of bird’s cries"

And Derby had a lot to prove following their poor performance at Rotherham on Saturday. And they set out to do just that, playing with much more energy and quick passing. In the end it was a disappointing result but a really good performance in which, in the presence of Gareth Southgate, our young bloods did very well and more than just Mason Mount must have impressed the England Manager. In fact, for me, Bennett and Bogle were more impressive than Mount who seemed just too eager (even frantic) to make a mark. Mowbray had obviously instructed his players to mark Mount out of the game. The fact that they couldn’t entirely manage it was due his extreme speed and agility - but then he never quite found the time for careful placement of his shots.

But Bogle and Bennett certainly created plenty and it wasn’t until the second half that they started to clobber both youngsters, no doubt due to instructions from on high. It perhaps was a measure of how effective both youngsters were, that Rovers found it necessary to dish out quite a lot of harsh treatment that Darren England did little to prevent. He let several brutal tackles go by and Bennett particularly must have been black and blue.

Highlighting these young players should in no way distract from other performances. All were really good, To be frank I was slightly dismayed to see Bradley Johnson as the choice of holding midfielder but in fact he had a great game and did the job admirably. He could only be faulted for two shots on goal that went wide, when a bit more accuracy would have been interesting. I just do not know how the Blackburn goal survived intact. Rugged defending, good goalkeeping and pure good fortune somehow contrived to hold the halftime score to 0-0. After the interval, Rovers created more chances than did Derby and I think we were just a bit lucky the they did not sneak a late, undeserved winner.

I have to stress again the ability of Mason Bennett and Bogle. I think Southgate should have been just as pleased with the Bennett and Bogle performances as he was with Mount’s. They were all there very creative and lively. Frank’s bigger current problem is finding who amongst Waghorn, Nugent, Marriott and Malone can put the ball in the net.