Derby takes a slender lead into the play off semi final second leg. The vibe from the coaching team is that Derby will take the game to Brighton and be on the front foot.

I hope the players do. That is the best way Derby can approach this game. That is when Derby are at their best; attacking.

I could not quite tell in the opening ten minutes if some of the players were nervous, casual or being a bit lazy. Too many of them were off the pace and the opening goal was inevitable.

I could not understand why Ward and Russell were on the opposite wings to where they normally play, but the coaching team recognised we were getting murdered down our left. It was not helped by Russell simply not tracking back, but when Ward moved over to the left we looked far more comfortable in defence and attack.

Two moments of class came from a fine run by Forsyth which led to the penalty, and combination of a good lay off by Russell and cracking left foot first time strike by Martin, gave Derby a half time lead, although it had an element of luck to it.

There does not seem to be any injuries from Thursday's effort so I expect Derby to remain unchanged. If we need a goal late on, Dawkins, Bamford and Hughes can make an impact from the bench and if we need to keep it tight in the final ten minutes Eustace would be ideal with his experience and defensive 'shielding' qualities.

Brighton have a reasonably good away record and were difficult to break down when they came to the iPro earlier on in the season. I expect they will want to keep things quite tight for the opening half and try to get an equaliser either on the break or from a set piece.

I expect Brighton to be unchanged and if they need a goal they will look to Lua Lua and Mackail-Smith. The first goal in this contest will probably have a huge bearing on the tie. If Derby gets it, then surely we will have enough to go on and win the game. If it goes to Brighton, their tails will be up and it's game on.

Derby were average at best at the Amex Stadium in the first leg, and only showed glimpses of the quality that we have seen this season. If Derby keep it tight at the back, take the game to Brighton, make the right decision in the final third and finish the chances they create, we will surely have too much for a well organised Brighton side.

The atmosphere will be electric and it both scares me and excites me to mention or think about the 'W' word.

The only 'W' word we should be thinking about is ‘Winning’ the game!

Enjoy the match, if you can!

COYR!!

Current Form — Last 5 Matches:

Derby (3rd): W, W, W, D, W

Brighton (6th): D, D, W, W, L

The Stats That Matter:

Steve McClaren collected nearly 75% of the points available to him since joining The Rams coach, collecting 72 of a possible 100 points.

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