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The RamZone Wrap: Two Over Trotters As Rams Keep It Clean
Sunday, 28th Sep 2014 13:45 by Daniel J Sewart

Derby returned from Bolton with a very valuable 3 points in their kit bag, and nearly just as important, a rare clean sheet.

It was as close as the Rams have come to a fully rounded match performance in the League this season and they will be hoping it is the launching pad for a serious tilt at promotion this campaign.

After many fringe players got a hit out midweek in the cup against Reading, McClaren returned Whitbread, Eustace, Ward and Martin to his starting line up. Also Jordan Ibe was handed his first League start after impressing greatly midweek.

The Rams jumped out of the blocks early and began tearing holes in the struggling home team, as they could not contain the run of Bryson and Hughes, let alone the pace and trickery of Ibe and Ward who were leading them a merry dance.

The attacking nature of Derby’s play should have put them ahead in the first quarter of an hour when Bryson, who was back to his energiser bunny best, burst into the box only to be taken down by a crude, miss-timed tackle.

Chris Martin took responsibility for the spot kick but as he stepped up looked as comfortable as a man atop a flag pole in a thunderstorm. His effort was weak and pretty much straight at the keeper as the ball was beaten away to safety.

This penalty miss resulted in 10-15 minutes of sustained Bolton pressure as the Rams seemed to be stunned, while the Trotters were playing like a team who realised they had been handed a potential lifeline.

Joe Mason came close to punishing Derby immediately when he received a great pass from Lee Chung-Yong, but luckily for the visitors, Lee Grant was on hand to save at the near post.

Bolton pressed, attacked and regularly shot from distance, but the danger was more pantomime than documentary, as the home team failed to capitalise on what was a good spell of play.

Keogh deserves a special mention as he was having one of his best games in a Derby shirt, continually breaking down attacks, mopping up and getting forward. One last ditch tackle in particular was pure class and probably saved the Rams from being one down.

With no reward for effort, Bolton started to succumb to the Rams pressure who had got over their penalty miss and were once again taking the attack to their hosts.

On 38 minutes, Chris Martin made up for his poor penalty when he found himself on the end of a Cyrus Christie cross that he was able to lash home. It was slightly cruel on Bolton but overall Derby slightly shaded the first half and more than deserved their 0 — 1 lead going into half time.

HT: 0 — 1

The Rams opened the second half as they had the first, except this time they were looking to build on a lead.

Ibe was on fire as he ran around, through and at Bolton players time after time. Lonergan was the only thing that stopped the Liverpool loanee from adding to his Rams goal tally — when he charged into the area and produced a powerful shot that the keeper spectacularly saved to keep his team in the match.

Ward was trying to ensure that Ibe didn’t grab all of the headlines as he seemed intent on showing he was no stranger to attacking play. To say he was lively would be an understatement as between him and his pacey partner in crime, they had Bolton defenders wondering if they would ever tire and allow them to rest.

On 57 minutes Derby doubled their advantage when Bryson mugged a Bolton defender trying to run the ball out of defence leaving the Scot clear on goal with Rams players streaming alongside him. He slid the ball perfectly into the path of the better placed Martin who expertly finished from close range.

A brace for the Rams number 9 - penalty miss forgiven and forgotten!

The Rams were running a training drill following their second goal and could have easily won the game by 5 or more as good opportunities came and went, with only the final product spoiling some fabulous football.

Yes Bolton were not providing much opposition, but it was just as much because the Rams had ground them into submission, as it was the home team were poor opponents.

Ibe tried his luck again with a quarter an hour to go as he dashed in from the left, firing a devastating rocket of a strike, that was once again sensationally saved by Lonergan, who was single handedly limiting the damage for his team.

Johnny Russell entered the fray in place of Ibe and after seeing a master class from both starting wingers, he was determined to show he was also up to the challenge. After his goal in the cup midweek he was unlucky, after a fabulous run and shot saw the ball flash wide, when he should have done better having already completed the hard work.

Neil Danns produced a quality curling free-kick late on in the match that went within a whisker but Lee Grant was on hand to save the day, and any possible late nerves that Bolton pulling one back would have caused.

Besides that the only thing that troubled the Rams in the second half were two pitch invaders. The two highly intelligent individuals graced those watching with their audition piece for a new reality show ‘Britain’s Biggest Twat’, of which they are both likely to stand a good chance of winning.

Some may pass such actions off as a sign of Bolton fans venting their frustration at the state of affairs of their club — others may say it is as simple as every club has some right morons posing as supporters. The latter option could also apply to the Derby fan that let off a flare in the stands. Hosts or visitors - they should all be banned from attending games for a decade to think of a better way to express themselves!

Oh…. and the game carried on in fits and starts throughout these interruptions.

In the end the Rams did it easily and should have put more past their opponents. Being able to take all 3 points coupled with what is a very important clean sheet - were worth more to McClaren and his men than any multiple goal pounding.

FT: 0 — 2

The Rams will take much confidence from putting the Trotters hoodoo of recent seasons to rest as well as keeping the ball out of their own net for 90 minutes.

Back in the top 6 and a great platform to build on, while still having only lost one match for the entire campaign to date.

In other news - Forest were knocked from top spot, so frankly, days don’t really get much better!

DJ's Ram Of The Match — Richard Keogh:

Ibe, Ward, Bryson, Hughes, Christie and Martin all put in a good days graft but the Rams Captain was immense as he marshalled, encouraged, tackled, created and overall led by what was a sterling example. Showing signs in recent weeks that this season could be one of his best!


Match Info / Teams:

Ref: M.Brown

Crowd: 15,006 (2,193 Travelling Rams)


Rams:

Grant, Christie, Keogh, Whitbread, Forsyth, Eustace, Hughes, Bryson, Ibe (Russell, 76’), Ward (Best, 88’), Martin

Unused Subs: Roos, L Naylor, Calero, Shotton, Mascarell

Goals: Martin - 38’ & 57’


Trotters:

Lonergan, McNaughton, Mills, Dervite, Moxey, Garvan (C Davies, 58’), Spearing, M Davies, Chung-Yong (Danns, 65’), Feeney, Mason

Unused Subs: Kenny, Ream, Pratley, Medo, Beckford


Match Stats — Bolton / Derby:

Possession: 42% / 58%

Shots On Target: 2 / 6

Shots Off Target: 7 / 9

Corners: 7 / 7

Fouls: 13 / 11


We Said / They Said - Match Reaction:

We Said — Steve McClaren:

“The scoreline could have been more, but in terms of how we controlled the game, I don’t think we looked in trouble. They are bound to have spells, but we dealt with that, played good football and kept the ball.”

“It took us a while to get over the penalty miss, but once we did and got the goal, we looked like certain winners. We have spoken a lot about the discipline of the team, we need to be a good team with the ball, which we know we are, and be a good team without the ball.”

“We have let ourselves down in a couple of games with that and we have had to get back to it and we have in the last two games. The reward is a clean sheet and if we keep clean sheets, we will create chances and get results.”

“We were in control even when we didn’t have the ball. Everyone was behind the ball, everyone recovered to shape and from that, we sprung very well.”


They said — Dougie Freedman:

"I tried to out-football Derby and I got it horribly wrong. But you cannot legislate for us playing football suicide. This job is proving more difficult than I ever thought it would be. But I am not hiding away from it and I will make the tough decisions.”

"I am very proud of being the manager of this wonderful football club. I will take full responsibility for the results and I got it wrong so I have to look at my performance."


Highlights / Post Match Interviews:




Up Next For The Rams:

Derby vs. Bournemouth

iPro Stadium

Tuesday 30th of September — 7:45pm




COYR!!




Photo: Action Images



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