Billy Davies made 7 changes to the Derby team beaten by Birmingham as visitors Blackpool shot the Rams out of the Carling Cup.

The Rams, needing a win to lift spirits, managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, twice taking the lead only to surrender needless goals – with the 2nd Blackpool equaliser coming seconds before the very end of extra time. The penalty shoot-out went to sudden death at 3-3 before Darren Moore screwed Derby’s 9th penalty wide to allow the Tangerines to bash in the clincher and progress to Round Three.

Teenage full back Jason Beardsley, who had impressed in pre-season matches, earned his competitive debut in place of Griffin, the central defence of Moore and Leacock replaced Todd and Davis with Bob Malcolm and David Jones paired in central midfield for Oakley and Pearson while Mo Camara replaced Eddie Lewis. Earnshaw played up front with Fagan, Davies leaving his conventional target men, Macken and Howard, on the bench. Unexpectedly, American newcomer Danny Feilhaber was omitted altogether.

Derby started brightly enough without threatening the Tangerine’s goal; the purposeful Mo Camara dashed down the left but forgot where the touchline was, a sweeping pass by Jones saw Bob Malcolm push a shot 6 yards wide before Jones fired in a fierce shot (on 9 minutes) to bring a save out of Evans, though the resulting corner was wasted.

Beardsley was doing well in both halves of the pitch though was harshly booked on 20 minutes for a tug on Hills. A Gary Teale corner produced a melee in the Blackpool penalty area on 25 minutes which needed three clearances to stem the danger, then Camara flashed in a right foot drive to force a save from Evans. Clear-cut chances were at a premium and Rob Earnshaw again had no sight of goal for his efforts.

Blackpool edged there way into the game and played neat football with good movement. Parker lofted a weak lob into Bywater’s grateful arms when well placed and Derby responded on 36 minutes when Jones sent a dipper very close with Evans spectating.

Derby’s early impetus had been dissipated into a much more even contest as Blackpool looked compact and grew in confidence. They had coped with Camara’s marauding runs and Fagan’s alert all-action style and were showing enough ambition to cause Derby a few problems without troubling Bywater.

For Derby, Fagan, Teale and Camara had been busy, McEveley imposing with Leacock showing the smooth defending that characterised last season but there was still a telling lack of confidence and quality when it came to seriously threatening the Tangerines’ goalmouth. Blackpool had whipped in a free kick on 41 minutes that McEveley headed away for their first corner as the game foundered into a stalemate.

Though Derby had peppered Blackpool’s keeper with hopeful shots of varying accuracy throughout the first half, especially from David Jones, the Rams’ midfielders had again failed to produce killer balls in the final third, so the game had not produced the tonic that the Rams and their fans had hoped for. Mild booing accompanied the half time whistle, which is a help to no one, though the match, with it’s paltry attendance was still a good advert for the re-introduction of free season ticket Cup Vouchers.

Half Time: Rams 0-0 Blackpool

Derby wasted a couple of promising situations on the restart and Teale lost the ball when well-placed in the penalty area; it all provoked the learned elder seated next to me, Ron, to suggest several players needed a stick of dynamite in a certain orifice. Bob Malcolm fired in a tame 30-yarder and Teale and Camara continued to flatter to deceive, as Derby desperately searched for a confidence-boosting breakthrough.

Blackpool, having replaced Hills with Hoolahan, had attacking designs of their own, Bywater having to tip away a Parker shot before the same player struck an upright when Derby struggled to clear their lines after the corner.

Jason Beardsley, on a yellow card, earned a severe ticking off after a strong challenge on Parker. The youngster was replaced soon after by Todd but had done well as one of Derby’s bright sparks on the night. Earnshaw had taken a hefty challenge too and was soon to be replaced by Howard but not before Derby took the lead in 65 minutes from an innocuous attack.

Mo Camara paraded down the right wing and decided on a cross-shot aimed at no one in particular but it surprisingly nestled in the far corner of the net with Evans for once lacking attentiveness. 1-0. 

Blackpool made a double substitution within minutes (Southern for Flynn; Morrell for Vernon) as the seasiders sought reward for their creditable performance. Southern soon rammed in a free kick that the alert Bywater clutched, despite a deflection. Kiegan Parker then forced another save from the Derby keeper after a swift move on 75 minutes.

Craig Fagan bamboozled a worried defender in the box but the corner came to nothing before Bywater raced out of his area to blast a tackle-cum-clearance into safety. Pearson replaced the hardworking Camara on 85 minutes but before the Scot could have any influence on the game, Bywater was called into action again to paw away Fox’s long drive. 

Blackpool, increasingly threatening and carving out the clearer chances, finally and deservedly equalised on 85 minutes as Shaun Barker, given an obliging amount of room to cross from the right wing, planted a searching cross on the far post where Kaspars Gorkss powered in an unchallenged header. 1-1. 

It became another exasperating game for Rams fans with such a simple goal undoing the endeavours of the evening and the prospect of extra time did not appeal to the groaning contingent of 7,600 die-hard Rams fans.

Teale forced a save from Evans with a crisp low drive but the game ended in more murmurs of discontent, with quite a few Derby fans apparently drifting away, either having had enough or being unaware of the mandatory extra time to settle the tie.

Full Time: Rams 1-1 Blackpool

Extra Time:
Derby mustered some energy and probed away as extra time got under way but Bywater was soon forced into action, dealing comfortably with a 20-yard drive from Andy Morrell. It was Derby who scored next, however, to set up the chance of their first win of the 2007-08 campaign.

Ten minutes in and Teale measured a whipped cross that though deflected, invited Craig Fagan to plunge his header firmly into the net. Could Derby County really be close to winning a match again? 2-1.

Teale threatened again on the restart but his cross was wild, before the scuttling Scot struck a low drive that Evans saved. Blackpool refused to give up and had plenty of possession in and around the Derby penalty area as the Rams wound out the game to a nervous conclusion. Characteristically, they conceded another simple goal as the Championship side sought to force the game into a penalty shoot-out.

Parker was able to steal the ball off Stephen Pearson – guilty of not simply clearing his lines from a full back position, deep into stoppage time – and Kaspars Gorkss rose at the far post to send the hardy band of Tangerine-clad fans into delirium with a replica of his first headed goal from the undefended far post. 

Full Time AET: Rams 2-2 Blackpool

So to the penalty shoot-out, lacking the gripping atmosphere of the Southampton play-off semi final 2nd Leg but still important to hopefully send the Rams further into a Cup run and give a morsel of confidence before the trip to Anfield.

Howard saw Derby’s first penalty saved and Bob Malcolm was also denied by Evans but Fagan, Teale and McEveley thumped in theirs as the mandatory 5 shots each ended in a 3-3 stalemate.

‘Sudden death’ then meant that he who misses, loses. Pearson, Bywater (who smashed his ferocious shot like taking a goal kick) and Todd all scored for Derby until, at 6-6, Darren Moore loped up and plopped his shot horribly wide of the left-hand post.

Jackson kept his head to slot the decisive penalty past Bywater and yet another team beginning with “B” had eliminated Derby County from a Cup competition.

Result: 7-6 to Blackpool on penalties

Paul’s MOM: Craig Fagan. Relentless running, good attitude and a neat goal. 

Rams: Bywater 7, Beardsley 6 (Todd 60), Moore 6 (C), Leacock 6, McEveley 7, Teale 7, Malcolm 6, Jones 6, Camara (Pearson 81) 7, Fagan 8, Earnshaw 5 (Howard 65).
Subs not used: Price (GK), Macken. 

Blackpool: Evans, Jackson (C), Evatt, Parker, Forbes, Vernon (Morrell 69), Fox, Hills (Hoolahan 48), Gorkss, Barker, Flynn (Southern 69).
Subs not used: Rachubka (GK), Lawlor. 

Referee: Nigel Miller (6).

Attendance: 8,658 (967 away fans). NB: Lowest attendance for a competitive Derby County PPS match. 

Next up: Liverpool (away).

See pictures from the game here

Blackpool Club Fanzine

Photo: Action Images

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