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Morley's Match Musings: Derby Are Getting Close To Their Best
Tuesday, 23rd Sep 2014 06:35 by Nathan Morley

On the 10th anniversary of Brian Clough’s passing, Derby County and its supporters paid their tributes to Old Big ‘Ed. A minute of applause echoed around the iPro on 10 minutes, as it was during last weekend’s trip to the City Ground.

Prior to the match I read a fascinating article on the BBC Sport site which included some of Cloughie’s quotable gems. One of my favourites was; “That Portuguese bloke at Chelsea, Jose what’s his name… he reminds me of me at the same age. But I were better-looking.”

That was typical Clough with that strong charisma that, for me, helps set him above some of the other managerial greats.

Anyway, on with my musings of the Cardiff match. Even though the Rams came back from 2-0 down, the goal conceded and the command of possession meant I went home disappointed. Having said that, I can’t take anything away from the players, who, once again, showed mettle to come from behind.

Here are some post-match points I think are worth highlighting:

Derby should have capitalised on their complete domination in the first-half. Chances were missed it and the visitors were fortunate to go into the break at 0-0. In total, Derby had 18 shots, just 5 of which were on target in the whole match.

Craig Bryson has, it’s fair to say, not begun the season well, but today like Tuesday, he has stepped up a gear. His wonderful goal will help bring back that confidence he oozed last season. Will Hughes also had an impressive game.

Failure to take one of the many chances in the first 45, left the Rams vulnerable to a Cardiff side clearly waiting for a chance to catch the hosts out. It came twice and they took their chances in such a clinical fashion, their days work looks passable on paper, despite being outclassed and seeing so little of the ball. Smash and grab was written all over the match at 2-0. I was left thinking it wouldn’t be our day.

Is conceding becoming a problem? Two on Wednesday and another two on Saturday, two lapses that proved costly.

Steve McClaren’s change in bringing on Jordan Ibe helped massively when the Rams were chasing the game. The loanee caused problems to the Cardiff defence and he clearly has a lot of pace and skill, which he used to be more direct. I think he must be close to getting a starting place, maybe on Tuesday night in the League Cup.

Taking set pieces is something Derby is just not effective at doing. At Forest last week, Craig Forsyth made a wonderful delivery that led to the Rams’ goal. This week, he didn’t, from my memory, take any.

Derby had an enormous 73% of the possession - the midfield contributed hugely to that stat with Derby keeping the ball so much. Will Hughes has been great recently and I felt that John Eustace put in a good shift, his passing range was good but it was right that he was withdrawn as McClaren’s side looked to cancel out the Bluebirds’ (or Redbirds’) goals.

The match marked the return of John Brayford to Pride Park with Cardiff. He was a player I hugely admired in his time as a Ram and I wish he was given more of a chance in the Premier League last season. Many of the home fans were frustrated at how long he took to take a couple of throw-ins as the match edged to its conclusion. Yes, it’s annoying when it is your team that is looking to go on and win and the opponents are doing everything to run down the clock, yet you can’t blame him; I’d expect a Rams player not to rush in the same position.

The result isn’t a genuine reflection of the game. Derby was excellent in the first-half. Everything was there - aside from the finishing!

The Rams are getting very close to their best and, I know it’s difficult to forget, but they’ve only lost one match so far this season.

Now for Reading in the cup and a trip to Bolton Saturday! Up The Rams!!


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



Photo: Action Images



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