The noise and fan displays in the iPro certainly got the home side off to a good start as Derby dominated the visitors from the very beginning. The Rams created a number of chances and nearly took the lead on a few occasions, with only fine margins keeping the ball out of the net. As far as team play goes, the best moment from a Derby perspective began with a turnover in possession thanks to Craig Forsyth picking the pocket of a Charlton man to win the ball, and the left-backs subsequent long pass to the other flank. The ball landed squarely at the feet of Tom Ince who used the overlapping right-back Chris Baird, with Baird drilling a low cross towards Chris Martin who looked set to score if not for a last ditch clearance by Charlton’s Alou Diarra.
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| Thanks to Ladyram of dcfcfans.uk |
Despite this however, the first goal went to the visitors early in the second half after Tony Watt’s shot deflected off Richard Keogh’s attempted block deceiving the Rams ‘keeper Scott Carson. Harsher critics may look at the game’s opener and attach some blame to Carson for his lack of movement, or to Keogh for his trailing leg deflecting the ball into the net. However it would be extremely tough on either man to fault them for what was an unfortunate mishap. To give credit to the scorers though, Charlton found Watt in good space to get the shot off through some clever interplay. Certainly Addicks fans will tell you that “they all count” and perhaps that the shot was most likely going on target anyway with a lot of pace and there’s no guarantee that Carson would have been able to deal with the shot even without the deflection.
Derby continued to push for an equaliser though. The team played with the same determination and positivity that they started the game with and not an ounce of panic seemed to seep into the game – the very opposite to how Rams fans saw their team play on Wednesday night. Much more calmness and confidence saw them continue to create chances despite being behind. The Rams nearly got their much sought-after equaliser on 54 minutes with midfielder Jeff Hendrick coming close to netting for his team. The chance came from Derby skipper Chris Baird’s interception halfway into the Charlton half. The Addicks found themselves under the cosh following this as white shirts began to flood into their half to capitalise on the turnover in possession. Baird found Ince, who chose not to play in Chris Martin who was much better positioned, opting to go alone instead. Charlton defenders swarmed Ince and cut off the Martin option, leaving only a crowded out Hendrick as his only pass. Hendrick however found his way through and squeezed a shot through the wall of bodies, only to have it cleared off the line by Patrick Bauer.
The equaliser had been a long time coming when it arrived on 67 minutes. Academy graduate Jamie Hanson found Chris Martin on the edge of the box and the Suffolk-born striker turned and fired his shot on his left foot into the keeper’s bottom right corner. Even though Derby had been made to work so hard for the equaliser, they never stopped pushing for the winner, even right into added time, but sadly for the home supporters it was not to be and the match finished 1-1.
Derby continued to push for an equaliser though. The team played with the same determination and positivity that they started the game with and not an ounce of panic seemed to seep into the game – the very opposite to how Rams fans saw their team play on Wednesday night. Much more calmness and confidence saw them continue to create chances despite being behind. The Rams nearly got their much sought-after equaliser on 54 minutes with midfielder Jeff Hendrick coming close to netting for his team. The chance came from Derby skipper Chris Baird’s interception halfway into the Charlton half. The Addicks found themselves under the cosh following this as white shirts began to flood into their half to capitalise on the turnover in possession. Baird found Ince, who chose not to play in Chris Martin who was much better positioned, opting to go alone instead. Charlton defenders swarmed Ince and cut off the Martin option, leaving only a crowded out Hendrick as his only pass. Hendrick however found his way through and squeezed a shot through the wall of bodies, only to have it cleared off the line by Patrick Bauer.
The equaliser had been a long time coming when it arrived on 67 minutes. Academy graduate Jamie Hanson found Chris Martin on the edge of the box and the Suffolk-born striker turned and fired his shot on his left foot into the keeper’s bottom right corner. Even though Derby had been made to work so hard for the equaliser, they never stopped pushing for the winner, even right into added time, but sadly for the home supporters it was not to be and the match finished 1-1.
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| Photo courtesy of Twitter: @dcfcofficial |
Most impressively for those of a black and white persuasion, The Rams seemed to use the full width of the pitch, switching the play often and having full-backs overlap and stretch the compact Charlton backline as much as possible. Wingers Johnny Russell and Tom Ince seemed to cut inside less, preferring to use the midfielders and frontline striker Chris Martin with passes, allowing them to find space out wide. Having tough-tacklers in midfield like George Thorne and Jamie Hanson allowed full-backs Chris Baird and Craig Forsyth to find themselves in the final third much more often than in the previous two games. Many Rams fans had made clear their displeasure with a perceived lack of width, especially with the 4-4-2 diamond formation used in preseason and against Bolton on the opening day of the season. Paul Clement certainly knew he was going to need width in this game with the Rams boss noting prior to the game that Charlton were a “well organised and compact” team.
Also impressive however was the players for Derby today who allowed fans to breathe a sigh of relief with their performances and fitness. Chris Martin’s tally of zero goals, even including preseason, was something that worried many fans but with last season’s leading goalscorer getting himself off the mark yesterday fans will feel more relaxed about that. Similarly, injury-plagued midfielder George Thorne put in another good performance and despite taking some heavy knocks came through another game, just as he came through preseason unscathed. Undoubtedly we must ask the question “when will Derby fans be able to feel comfortable with George Thorne’s ability to stay fit?” The answer to that is as long as there is an audible gasp from fans every time the midfielder stays down for more than three seconds, we can be sure it won’t be any time soon. Last but not least an honourable mention must go to Jamie Hanson, the young midfielder who stepped in for injured Will Hughes in this game. The 19 year old was playing his fourth first team game, but he looked like a player with several years’ experience. There was some slight timidity and what seems like nervousness, but on the whole Hanson impressed Derby fans with a mature midfield performance.
Also impressive however was the players for Derby today who allowed fans to breathe a sigh of relief with their performances and fitness. Chris Martin’s tally of zero goals, even including preseason, was something that worried many fans but with last season’s leading goalscorer getting himself off the mark yesterday fans will feel more relaxed about that. Similarly, injury-plagued midfielder George Thorne put in another good performance and despite taking some heavy knocks came through another game, just as he came through preseason unscathed. Undoubtedly we must ask the question “when will Derby fans be able to feel comfortable with George Thorne’s ability to stay fit?” The answer to that is as long as there is an audible gasp from fans every time the midfielder stays down for more than three seconds, we can be sure it won’t be any time soon. Last but not least an honourable mention must go to Jamie Hanson, the young midfielder who stepped in for injured Will Hughes in this game. The 19 year old was playing his fourth first team game, but he looked like a player with several years’ experience. There was some slight timidity and what seems like nervousness, but on the whole Hanson impressed Derby fans with a mature midfield performance.
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| Twitter: @dcfcofficial |
A performance like that is normally enough to do the job against most teams. Frustration with the result is useless, nothing will change as an outcome. Derby fans should instead feel proud that the team exorcised the aforementioned demons and put in a winning performance in all but the scoreline. As the Head Coach of the better team on the day, Paul Clement speaks for all Rams fans when he says “we’ll play worse than that and win”.
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