This one reminded me of my many failed attempts to pull a pretty girl; lots of heart, endeavour, things that may be considered aesthetically pleasing but sadly no end product.

For the majority of the ninety, the Rams were dominant but again were left wondering where their luck and goals had gone.

Unsurprisingly, Martin was restored in place of the fish, with Eustace and Ward also returning to replace Bamford and the injured Will Hughes.

My pre-match prediction (no gambling on this occasion!) was a high-scoring affair, what with our visitors banging in nine goals in their last two encounters, although one of those big wins was against Leeds…

The opening salvos did little to suggest I would be proven wrong, with the Rams looking like a side with a point to make. Immediately, as on Saturday, we set a tempo which displayed our standing as one of the best sides in the division. One and two touch passes, coupled with control and clever movement, threatened to blow Bolton away. Even our corner kicks looked half-decent, with a clear ploy to try and take a short one wherever possible.

With Bryson and Hendrick freely roaming, an early goal looked likely and would no doubt have opened the door for more to follow. For all of our early pressure, the balls from the full-backs into the centre were either too close to giant Zat Knight (who sadly didn’t go off following an early knock) or didn’t drop to a white shirt. Little did I know that this would be the order of the day….

Wisdom’s centre on fifteen minutes deserved better than to pinball around and eventually be hacked away by a disgusting luminous orange shirt, an away kit hideous enough for wearing sunglasses to be excusable at a night game. Hacking away from this terribly dressed side was becoming common as the Rams were defending well from the front.

Any sort of possession that the Wanderers had saw them lump balls aimlessly towards Jutkiewicz , a long time scourge of the Rams. This tactic proved meat and drink for Keogh and Captain Caveman. Quite how Leeds had been breached five times by them was a mystery, though fashion related severe eye-trauma has still not been ruled out.

Our first real sight of goal followed an excellent move, with Martin, Dawkins then Ward combining to set Hendrick away, his effort well-saved but academic due the linesman’s flag.

Next, our first legitimate chance. Ward’s delicious (long overdue!) free-kick from the right was inches away from connecting with Dawkins’ head with the goal gaping.

Both of the aforementioned wingers were looking sharp and menacing, with neither afraid to take their man on. At the hub though was Martin, who looked as if he had been resting in the Bahamas for a month, such was his sharpness and fantastic link-up play. Perhaps a certain Mr. Madley’s red-card was spurring him on to prove a point of his own?

For all of our dominance, a warning shot was quite literally fired in, with Moritz hammering a shot from the right on the angle that Grant did well to keep out two-handed.

One piece of sloppy marking and the Rams were almost behind. However, following a half-hearted shout for handball in the box (that only Madley would have looked twice at) and after Hendrick had fired high and wide, our best chance of the half was superbly fashioned.

More excellent work from Dawkins and Martin saw the former link up well with Ward on the right. A quick one-two saw Jamie meet the ball at pace, cutting in from the left. Firing left-footed first time, he was desperately unlucky to see the ball whistle agonizingly, millimetres wide of the target.

With the crowd sensing a sure-fire breakthrough, more superb interplay saw Martin free in the inside channel of the box, only to disappointingly shoot tamely at Bogdan. Grant safely watched Leicester-reject Danns float a half-volley over in a rare foray into Derby territory for the beleaguered visitors, with them desperately wishing for the half-time breather.

Somehow, despite the best efforts of Ward, who was having his best game for some time and Wisdom, who screwed a left-footed shot just wide in time added on, it was scoreless at the break.

For the first time in recent memory, there wasn’t a case for any possible changes at the break; such was our man for man dominance. Bolton, you felt, would be extremely happy to defend deeper and as such, we needed to strike… and quickly!

In the first five of the second period, we almost obliged, with Bryson, uncharacteristically our worst player in the first-half, bringing a good save from Bogdan low to his left. Freedman, who has used more lives than a cat this season, then tinkered with his pack, bringing on Trotter…for the Trotters.

An all-too-familiar pattern though was forming, with our dominance and tempo showing for nothing at the hour mark. In fact for the next ten or so minutes, Bolton looked to gain more of a foothold as the midfield battle becoming more evenly contested. However, apart from a couple of corners, Keogh and Buxton were still untroubled, with both showing good composure to attempt to build efficiently from the back outwards.

Another good challenge saw Buxton feed Forsyth, who couldn’t get the ball adequately out of his feet before firing just over the angle of post and bar. Grant saved a daisy-cutter from the scourge but still it was the Rams in the ascendancy. Despite not possessing the same threat as in the first period, Ward and Dawkins were still menacing but saw most centres met by the impressive Knight.

Needing a change and something special, McClaren turned to Bamford, who replaced Eustace as the Rams looked for an end product. Immediately, the youngster looked sharp, combining well with Wisdom as we tried to force the tempo up a couple of notches.

A sucker punch was again threatened though with Danns, finding a pocket of space that Eustace had just vacated. After nearly catching the ball low down, for my money anyway, he let fly a snap-shot which was thankfully straight at Grant.

Within a minute, Steve continued his trusty and so far effective gung-ho style and threw Sammon into the fray (or should that be pond) for the tiring Ward. The change in formation seemed to see Bolton content with a point with Jutkiewicz ploughing more of a lonely furrow than before.

Bamford drove a shot at Bogdan’s near post as the last-ten minutes were set-up for a Rams onslaught. Going all-in, McClaren played his joker with Russell on for Dawkins.

Immediately the Scot, who cannot be benefiting by yo-yoing in and out of the side, looked the man most likely. First, his fantastic deep cross was headed to somewhere near Ashbourne by the fish, with the skipper better-placed behind him. Russell then found himself on the end of Wisdom’s chipped centre, his excellent run to the near post resulting in a flicked header just over.

Much like last-orders in the bar though, time was not our friend. Bolton sensed this and decided to employ a touch of the Millwall tactics, although of course, Holloway would certainly not encourage time-wasting… (what’s that smell?!).

This said, my heart ended up somewhere in my oesophagus when, in the second minute of four added on, Danns released another speculative effort, which bounced horribly in front of Grant and very nearly squirmed past him and in.

With disaster averted, you felt there was to be one last chance. With our boys deserving great credit for playing football until the end, Hendrick found Sammon, who touched on to Bryson. A lovely back-heel later and the much-maligned Irishman had a chance of glory. In a moment then encapsulated the night, he could only drive weakly straight at Bogdan with his left foot.

Cue mass exodus, many verbals and soon after, the full-time whistle.

Quite what some morons were booing at come the referee’s last whistle is beyond me. Yes, a third game without a goal, but certainly not a poor performance, even through the eyes of those wearing sunglasses.

On another day, with the same certainly true of Saturday, more of the proverbial rub of the Pride Park greenery and we could have been sitting pretty with six points.

In a game where the positives once again hugely outweighed the negatives, it is certainly not the time to panic. Someone soon will get a hammering on our behalf.

Preferably next time at home…

Weston’s Player Ratings:

Lee Grant - 7: Better than the weekend, did what he had to do well and his distribution was a lot more encouraging.

Craig Forsyth - 7: Good both defensively and going forwards for long periods. Final ball frustrating at times.

Andre Wisdom - 7: Very assured as per, looked good offensively and very nearly bagged!

Jake Buxton - 7: Very solid once again, can’t remember him making a mistake.

Richard Keogh - Weston’s Star Man - 8: Excellent display by the skipper. Won his battles, looked good with the ball at his feet and communicated brilliantly.

Craig Bryson - 7: Poor first half but improved considerably in the second half.

John Eustace - 7: We do look better for having him in the team and I won’t have anyone telling me otherwise!

Jeff Hendrick - 7 Less innocuous then in recent times, saw glimpses of his attacking threat. Worked hard, unfairly criticized in some quarters post-game.

Simon Dawkins - 7: Direct and pacey. Faded as the game went on.

Jamie Ward - 8: Best game for some time. Sharp, clever and a menace. Unfortunate not to score.

Chris Martin - 7: Superb in the first forty-five, an excellent example of lone-man execution. Not as good second half but still decent.

Subs:

Johnny Russell - 7: Did well, even in the ten minute cameo.

Patrick Bamford - 6: Looked sharp but couldn’t produce a wonder goal!

Connor Sammon — 6: Will be the scapegoat after his late miss… 6

Gaffer Reaction — We Said / They Said:

We Said - Steve McClaren:

“It was one of those nights where it just wouldn’t go in for us but I cannot fault the performance. In previous weeks we have won games late on but we couldn’t manage it on this occasion; that’s the way it goes in football.”

“There’s a long, long way to go and this is where we wanted to be; fighting for promotion in the top six at this stage.”

They said - Bolton Manager Dougie Freedman:

‘It's a very good point for us because Derby are fighting for promotion. We showed a resilience in our defending and I'm very proud of that point because it was one we would not have got earlier in the season".

“It was a fantastic display by Derby and they are probably disappointed they didn't win, but you can't fault our effort or commitment."

Match Stats: Rams / Wanderers:

Possession: 63% / 37%

Corners: 10 / 3

Shots (On Target): 18 (6) / 8 (4)

Fouls: 6 / 16

Match Info:

Referee: Graham Scott

Attendance: 23,435

Derby County: Grant (GK); Wisdom, Keogh, Buxton, Forsyth; Eustace (Bamford 74'), Hendrick, Bryson; Ward (Sammon 79'), Dawkins (Russell 82’), Martin.

Unused Subs: , Legzdins, Naylor, Whitbread, Thorne

Bolton: Bogdan (GK), Hutton, Knight, Ream, Baptiste, Medo, Spearing, Danns, Davies (Lee 65') , Moritz (Trotter 53’), Jutkiewicz (Wheater 90').

Unused Subs: Lee-Barrett, Hall, Vela, Mason.

Match Highlights - Video:

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Manager / Player Reaction - Video

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Next Time:

Reading vs. Derby

Madejski Stadium

3pm - Saturday March 15th

Photo: Action Images

Derby County Polls