The season has been a failure, the damage had already been done but on Tuesday night, at least Derby County put on a real show and gave the fans something to be proud of.

All I hoped for after the disaster of Saturday was a battle to restore some pride but the show that the Rams put on exceeded anything that I thought was possible.

Signs were there early on, the intensity, pace and fight of the Rams was a world away from the lifeless performance in the first leg.

Hull were well and truly caught out by this seemingly resurrected Derby side. It was clearly not going to be an easy path to Wembley for the Tigers.

The first goal came through Johnny Russell but genuine hope still felt a little distant, after all there was still a big lead to turn around.

But it became clear very quickly that Derby were up for this, as was the travelling support, so the excitement steadily built and when Derby struck again through great pressure that resulted in Robertson scoring an own goal for Hull.

At 0-2 it was game on.

The Rams had their share of chances to score more as well especially in the opening stages of the second half when Bryson could not get any contact on a ball that was begging to be put into the net.

Whilst Hull still remained a threat on the break, Will Hughes was on fire, as was Jeff Hendrick returning to the side. It was a whole team effort but those two were a cut above.

Christie, Keogh, Shackell, Russell and Martin put in good shifts, as did Weimann who didn’t even make the bench on Saturday. Andreas started and looked bright, energetic and dangerous until he picked up an injury and was replaced by Ince. This change seemed to sap the side of the pace and spark he had been generating.

We’ve not seen much of Weimann this season, but just enough to wonder what he can do when he’s in a more suited position that utilises his undoubted pace and attacking flair.

Unfortunately despite all the good work and hard graft, the third goal never came as the Rams tired and Hull parked an orange bus in front of goal.

It was easy to moan and groan on Saturday (and rightly so, it was awful) but we should still praise the teams effort. Darren Wassall made a good call bringing in Hendrick and Weimann but it’s just a huge shame there hasn’t been a little more consistency!

The away support was magnificent and we dared in one voice to believe, I’ve not heard away support so good for a while. Even the Hull fans, celebrating post match, applauded the travelling Rams supporters.

And it was great to see Bryson make his way through a sea of Tiger fans on the pitch and give away his shirt to a lucky Rams fan.

There were mixed feelings at the final whistle, disappointment as once again Derby had come up short, however the performance left fans feeling quite upbeat after witnessing such a passionate fight.

I am not sure but maybe the fightback makes it harder to take? Whatever the case - it’s never easy being a Ram!

Ultimately Derby have come up short again so this summer is a big one (again!); a managerial appointment to get right (Nigel Pearson please?), a squad to reassess and a potentially more competitive Championship with the arrival of a relegated Aston Villa and Newcastle.

So, once again, we are left feeling what might have been after a long season.

We go again…..

For more of Nathan's articles you can read his blog at www.derbycountyfan.com and follow him via @ramscorner on Twitter.

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