Derby County vs Wolverhampton Wanderers

Wolverhampton Wanderers were the visitors to Derby’s iPro Stadium on Sunday afternoon for a hotly-anticipated clash between the two Midlands clubs. Derby fans had been eager to get this one underway ever since the last game showed Derby back to their best at home to Brentford. The Rams won 2-0 on that day and blew away the opposition with strong attacking intent and desire to extend their good run of form. Unfortunately for those of a black and white persuasion, a two week wait due to the International Break was on the cards. 

Derby fans who tuned into the International fixtures may have taken some joy seeing three Rams players start for the Republic of Ireland as they recorded a historic 1-0 win against world champions Germany in their European Championship Qualifying Group. Cyrus Christie, Jeff Hendrick and Richard Keogh all played a part in the win and many Derby supporters professed their happiness to see those three players do so well for their country, expressing their hopes that the players might take confidence from the victory and bring their good form back to Derby with them. Confidence is without a doubt something that fluctuates wildly with Derby County in recent years. When they’re up, they’re up - a confident Derby often appears to be unstoppable, notching up large unbeaten runs and blowing away teams home and away. But when they’re down, they’re down, as evidenced by Derby’s poor form at the tail end of the 2014/15 season.

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At the start of this season, Derby could not seem to find a way to win and massively lacked confidence. Since losing to Leeds United in August things seem to have changed. Derby are now unbeaten in six after Sunday’s win against Wolves, with five of those being wins. Confidence is now abundant at Derby County and it showed in this game. Derby were in control from the first minute and only took three minutes to find the opener when Jeff Hendrick teed up Chris Martin for the talismanic striker to curl one in from 20 yards out. This was followed up with a George Thorne long range effort that could have made it 2-0 after receiving the ball from a cleared Derby corner. Goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez got a hand to the shot to tip it wide.

Complacency seeped into Derby’s defence after this positive start however and Wolves took advantage on 19 minutes with a well-rehearsed corner routine that caught Derby napping. The corner came in and the near post runner simply dummied the ball, leaving it for Benik Afobe who only needed to apply a simple finish. This was followed by a strong Derby attack in response, and it was just nine minutes later when Bradley Johnson floated a measured left foot cross that Derby pulled themselves back into the lead through Chris Martin again after the Scotland International battled with the ‘keeper and the defender to head home. Martin had a chance to make it a hattrick when Tom Ince was impeded by Danny Batth in the area and a penalty was given, but a nervous Martin fired it straight at the goalkeeper. The corner kick that followed proved the deflating blow for Wolves as the set piece found the boot of Bradley Johnson to make it 3-1 and regain Derby’s two-goal cushion.

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The second half was just as frantic and high-tempo as the first and Derby continued to dominate. Shortly before the hour mark Johnny Russell’s quick feet composed him in spite of the chaotic 18-yard box to stab in a toe-poke shot to make it 4-1, compounding the misery of the travelling Wolves fans. Credit to the visitors however as the Wolves fans continued their vocal support and inspired the players to start a fight back. They pressed Derby up the pitch and played with pace, getting a reward in the form of an Adam Le Fondre headed goal. Le Fondre towered above Richard Keogh and steered his header to Scott Carson’s left, in the corner out of reach of the Derby stopper. Derby reacted by shutting up shop and finishing the game 4-2.

The result was enjoyable enough but it was also particularly pleasing to see the fans vocally sound their appreciation for new Derby chairman and owner Mel Morris. Morris provided all season ticket holders with a free black and white scarf, of decidedly good quality according to the general consensus of the season ticket holders, and urged them to bring the scarf with them to the game. The scarves were the catalyst for some moments of noisy and active support from the Derby fans, particularly in the South Stand. The work of the 1884 group appears to be helping with this and the atmosphere in the ground is improving game on game, but at a slower pace than some might have hoped.

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One major thing that encourages vocal support is a good entertaining performance by their team, something which Derby delivered on the day. The second half especially was almost like an exhibition of slick passing and exuberant skill and even when Wolves pushed, Derby looked in control. Both Wolves goals were avoidable and were the result of complacency and poor focus, which makes it regrettable that Derby could not make a real statement with a bigger, cleaner win on Sunday. Despite the sloppiness however, Derby seemed to have an essence of control. There was no slackness when the game was 0-0 or 1-1, or even 2-1. The lax attitude was a direct result of the dominant performance for so much of the game and if Derby had been in trouble at any point, it’s likely they would have dealt with it. Derby took the lead early on and never looked like losing from there. The result leaves the Rams in 6th place, the first time they have entered the playoff places this season. Head Coach Paul Clement has told his team that in the coming six games they are to attempt to beat the points total they accumulated in the six games prior to the International Break. Those six games saw Clement’s men pick up 13 points, and this win against a strong Wolves side is a big sign that the players are going to be capable of meeting that target.