For Those Who Could not Attend

This was a solid professional performance. They were in control from start to finish. Cardiff are a good side and they defended in two banks of four (standard procedure nowadays) plus an excellent keeper. Derby were patient (some thought too patient) but they had nearly three quarters of possession and Cardiff's first corner was not until the 86th minute.

29000 supporters plus a few Cardiff stalwarts saw the game which was occasionally boring though with some exciting skills mainly from Christie, and Warnock (who had another solid and penetrative game). There was one great Save from Carson but other than that Cardiff hardly threatened in spite of Kenwyne Jones' agile offerings. Weimann came close but Derby were restricted to a few half chances.

The first half was a stalemate but Clement's half time talk got an immediate response from Derby players, especially Thorne who seemed to simply determined he - or somebody - would score. And so he did and it turned the game. Cardiff could no longer park in 2 banks and Derby got a second. It was great to see Weimann pounce like a tiger on a keeper block to smash in his third goal. Ince came off and Russell brought an immediate improvement. Johnson was replaced by Bryson who was decent enough. With Johnson out suspended, Hendrick or Bryson are great replacements but Johnson will be badly missed. He has added a new dimension of bite and ball-winning to our midfield. Our very strong squad is beginning to be very much needed to take us over the next few games. Who would ever have thought the long term loss of Hughes and Forsyth would be so thoroughly compensated. And now, even Johnson’s suspension should not be too big a problem.

My motm was Thorne but Warnock, Keogh, Christie and Shackell ran him close. No wonder we kept another clean sheet. Warnock has improved greatly after his dodgy start in a Derby shirt.

Finally, I’m a bit worried about Vidal who somehow missed his Weekly Roundup submission. I hope he is well and has not been put off by its high-jacking last week by a Red Dog.