Derby’s hope

Tuesday, 31/08/2010

by Josh MacDonald, Shoot's Derby blogger

Derby County could only settle for a draw in a very one-sided affair on Saturday against QPR. The Rams played some excellent football throughout the 90 minutes, and were looking to complete their first home win of the season, until a brace of goals in stoppage time would only permit a draw for Derby, much to the bitter frustration of both players and fans.

Always to be one of the tougher games of the season, Derby went into the match as underdogs against strong promotion candidates QPR, but soon diminished the quality of Warnock's side in all aspects of the game; being most effective in possession and more clinical in the final third.

Well-worked goals from Kris Commons and James Bailey gave Derby the upper hand, in what seemed to be a stylish first home win of the season, but goals from Agyemang and Mackie in the nail-biting final minutes soon scuppered this occasion and re-asserted QPR amongst promotion favourites.

A near-perfect day for Rams fans, with the unveiling of a new Clough-Taylor statue outside Pride Park, in memory of the famous duo, which added a definite buzz around the ground on matchday, with the Barmy Army also doing their part, with a new giant flag in commemoration of the famous footballing partnership.

It seems that with recent eye-catching performances, it's only a matter of time until results will start to follow. As players continue to gel and mistakes are gradually wiped out, Derby will soon find their feet in the Championship and start to assert themselves as a team to be reckoned with, and I'm certain of a mid-table finish this season with a possible promotion push, depending on the final stages of the transfer market.

Derby play host to Championship rivals Sheffield United after the international break and fully hope to build on recent performances with a win for Nigel Clough and his team.

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