The Rams made the long journey to a Home away from home on Tuesday night and not only encountered heavy conditions but a game that attracted the lowest ever crowd for a Championship fixture at Home Park.

Plymouth Argyle 1 v 0 Derby County
Coca Cola Championship
Home Park - Plymouth
Tuesday 26th January 2010 - 7:45pm

Attendance:

7,996

Goals:

Mackie (Plymouth) 80'

Referee:

Mr. A Hall

Teams:

Plymouth:

Stockdale, Duguid, Arnason, Johnson (Barker 88), Sawyer, Judge (Noone 62) , Fletcher, Summerfield, Clark (McNamee 86), Fallon, Mackie - Unused Subs: Larrieu, Gow, Wright-Phillips, Barnes.

Derby:

Bywater, Hunt, Barker, Buxton, McEveley (Commons 86), Green, Savage, Johnson (Moxey 63), Pearson; Campbell (Davies 70), Hulse - Unused Subs: Deeney, Teale, Porter, Anderson.

Match Summary:

The Rams made the long journey to a Home away from home on Tuesday night and not only encountered heavy conditions but a game that attracted the lowest ever crowd for a Championship game at Home Park.

Argyle were looking to keep within reach of the teams above them on the table while Derby were looking to extend their run of three games without loss and their much improved away record of no defeats since mid–November.

Nigel Clough made three changes to the FA Cup line from Saturday with Campbell, McEveley and Hulse coming into the starting line up at the expense of Porter, Davies and Moxey.

On a boggy ground that must have only just made the grade to host the game after last weekends abandoned match, Argyle started the brighter with some attacking play that amounted to little other than some huffing and puffing.

It was Derby that had the first genuine chance of the game as a free kick from Lee Johnson sprayed wide off the head of DJ Campbell.

Fletcher tried his luck from 20 yards but fired over the cross bar while Mackie was causing trouble for the Rams as he chased and worked hard to create options for Plymouth.

On a ground that was causing nothing but frustration as players tried to control the ball and weight their passes on the heavy pitch, Derby were still making Plymouth work to keep them out.

Campbell, Green and Hulse (on more than one occasion) were unable to finish off the good work of their team as chances went begging. 

The Rams upped the tempo as they tried to get something on the board before the break but Plymouth keeper Stockdale produced a great save to deny Nicky Hunt from a corner kick.

On the stroke of half-time a scuffle between the teams resulted in some yellow cards and a scrappy end to a dirty half of football.

The frustrations were a sign that the poor conditions and the slog it had produced was beginning to get to the players. Pride Park had never seemed further away!

HT: 0 - 0

Derby had the first chance of the second period when Pearson sent in a great cross to Rob Hulse whose shot only managed to find the Argyle fans behind the goal.

Plymouth was under constant pressure from the Rams and were resorting to a long ball game out of defense. One of those long balls produced a long run from Mackie as he shot from a difficult angle and only just cleared the bar.

The biggest chance of the match (an easier one than the eventual goal to Plymouth) came when a loose ball broke to Paul Green, who from four yards out, somehow managed to hit the post when scoring would have seemed to be a much simpler, if not preferred option.

Hulse managed another shot and another miss that although resulting in a corner came to nothing. It seemed as the teams tired on the heavy ground that it was only a matter of time before someone took advantage of the fatigue. Derby was the likely candidate as they were creating chances with Plymouth seemingly just hanging on.

But as is often the case with Derby, pressure does not always result in goals as Summerfield took a 30 yard free kick that was blocked well by Shaun Barker who could only watch in horror as Mackie latched onto the rebound and buried it from 18 yards out.

The Rams rallied and desperately tried to level up the score with a frantic final ten minutes plus (a confounding but at the time welcome) 5 minutes of extra time (from where did the ref get that?).

Plymouths now packed defense did their best to keep the ball in the muddiest areas of the ground and played keep-ies off with the desperate Rams. The newly introduced Commons created a chance for Pearson whose shot could not rescue the Rams as it flew over from 20 yards.

The whistle blows and Argyle have kept their first clean sheet of the season at Home, while another away trip ends in heartbreak for the Rams.

A cruel result for a brave and battling Derby team in trying conditions.

FT: 1-0

Man Of The Match:

James Mackie (Plymouth):

He chased and harassed the Rams for the full 95 minutes and fully deserved his goal.

If there is truth in the rumors that Nigel has been pursuing the players signature, then on this performance one could see why. Considering the conditions, Mackie never stopped running and definitely raised his stocks as the only real threat to the Rams in the Plymouth team.

Hopefully his next man of the match on RamZone will be won in a Derby shirt.

Managers Reaction:

Nigel speaking to the media after the match:

“We are very disappointed to lose but it was a very good performance”.

“It’s strange that sometimes you lose and yet you play that well. We have hit the post and gone extremely close on many occasions – six or seven times – and I thought Rob Hulse had his best match in ages for us".

“But we did not get any luck in front of goal. Sometimes you lose and you are so low but there is no reason for the players to feel like that after tonight. We have got Forest at the weekend and I will take a performance like that - if we get the luck in front of goal.”

Photo: Action Images

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