For Those Who Could not Attend

For Those Who Could Not Attend. Saturday 10th Nov 2018
Visitors - Aston Villa
Referee :- John Brooks
Crowd :- 30,400
Final Score :-
Weather/Conditions. Windy and wet,
Pitch Condition - Immaculate, as ever.
Team. Carson, Bogle, Keogh Tomori, Forsyth. ************
Huddlestone, Wilson, Holmes
Lawrence, Bennett, Marriott,

Subs. Pearce, Roos, Nugent, Johnson. Holmes, Malone, Bird

A tight game was expected and Derby would have to be at their best in :- A. Breaking down their defence, …….. and B. Holding their forwards - especially Grealish and Abraham. But hey!! the way we have been playing? I was very optimistic and, before the game, I forecast a 3-1 scoreline. Unfortunately after an even first half in which both sides created 2 or 3 chances which were spurned. One particularly easy one, fell to Tom Lawrence who from 2 yards (ie 6 feet) out and only an out of position goalie to beat, somehow managed to put it over the bar. He had previously taken two shots from distance when he would have better passed to Marriott or Bennett. Villa too had some easy chances and they also managed to miss them. Carson made a fantastic save from a header by Abraham. A fair score at half time would have been 2 - 3 to Villa based on missed chances. For all that it was exciting stuff and Villa showed that Derby would have to produce something very special if they were going to get a result.

In the event it was Villa who turned on a special second half. They controlled the game almost entirely. They attacked in wave after wave with slick passing and adventurous moves involving all of their midfield. It looked to be only a matter of time before they scored and so it proved. On 74 minutes following a great cross from their left wing, McGinn reacted first and headed into Carson’s net. One feared the worst but hoped for an equaliser that never came until Abraham made it 0 - 2. It is at this juncture that I have to mention the referee, though that doesn’t turn out to be any kind of excuse - we were simply outclassed and overpowered. They were too strong and too quick for us and wanted to win more than we did. Anyway, back to the referee. Soon after their second goal he gave a free kick just outside our area. At the time I was actually watching the player who had been allegedly fouled and I had an excellent view. He simply rolled over on the ground with no Derby player involvement. The ref blew and from the brilliantly taken free kick they scored their 3rd goal. That was it wrapped up for Villa

Positives from the game? Err…… err I cannot think of any, except perhaps the defeat will cause us to re-assess and modify our attitude for the rest of the season. After his miss, Lawrence was dreadful. It must have demoralised him. He contributed not much and helped Forsyth not at all in his struggle to stem the Villa attacks. Bogle was overwhelmed but still showed some good touches. Tomori was clattered and the ref did nothing. Keoch was our best defender - head and shoulders. Wilson - in the first half had a terrific shot from 30 + yards which Nyland just stopped. He had a couple of free kicks - one of which was tamely over the bar and another which with a lot of luck might have gone in. But on the whole - like all of Derby’s midfield - he was petty ineffectual. Holmes showed flashes but he too was outplayed. Marriott, now a lone striker, tried hard but again had no protection from the ref. Bennett looks likely to be out for a while but looked a handful. Tomori was his usual self but also suffered from some form of violence. Nugent came on and was his usual self. Bogle, Keogh and Forsyth were also overwhelmed. Carson made a couple of blinding saves but could do nothing about the three that went in. Derby played perfectly into the hands of a rampant Villa side by passing back and forth cross the back, giving the marauding Villa midfield all the time they needed to reform the wave after wave of attacks. I think, in a game of poor performances that Keogh was our MOTM. As to the referee = he was the most biased ref I have seen in many a year. He must have had Villa on a bet of some kind. or they were his boyhood dream team.

But, after all the doom and gloom, miraculously we are still 5th in the league as a result of the great run we have just come out of - and still in touch with the leaders