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Rams Report: Pride Park Ploughed By Tractor Boys
Rams Report: Pride Park Ploughed By Tractor Boys
Tuesday, 6th Apr 2010 15:03

Clough sent to the stands, Pearson sent off and hopes of a Derby victory sent packing.

 

Derby County v Ipswich Town
Coca Cola Championship
Pride Park, Derbyshire
Easter Monday 2010 - 3:00pm

 

Attendance: 28,137 (1,036 Tractor Boys, Girls, Kids… etc)

 

Referee: Mr Moss  

 

Goals: McAuley (Ips) 4’, Edwards (Ips) 81’,  Hulse (Der) 83’, Wickham (Ips) 93’

 

Red Card: Stephen Pearson

 

Teams:

Derby: Bywater, Hunt (Hulse 53’), McEveley, Barker, Anderson, Tonge, (Cywka 77’), Pearson, Green, Savage, Davies (Sunu 63’), Porter

Unused Subs: Deeney, Pringle, Martin, Teale

Ipswich Town: B Murphy, Delaney, McAuley, Leadbitter, Norris, Peters (Wright 46’), Colback, Walters, D Murphy (Edwards 46’), O'Connor (Smith 75’), Wickham

Unused Subs: Lee-Barrett, Martin, Healy, Eastman

 

Match Report:

Just when it seemed we were racing for the finish line another dreadful performance has left a bitter taste in my mouth that will take a long while to wash out.

I’ll admit to having struggled finding the money to renew my season ticket for next season and struggled even more in justifying it but still I was pleased to hand over my money thinking that, ultimately, I wouldn’t regret it.

Then Ipswich and Roy Keane came to Pride Park.

Their visit also coincided with the Rams forgetting how to pass to a team mate and other such important aspects of winning a football match.

Other than Shaun Barker and Stephen Bywater, it seems as though the current band of misfits are simply not good enough to string a few wins together.

Harsh?

Maybe but I’ve left it until the morning after the match to gather my thoughts and I’m still angry that this is the best our team can come up with against an Ipswich side that doesn’t exactly bring back memories of the good old days under Sir Bobby.

A disjointed attack that was bereft (again) of top scorer Rob Hulse until the latter stages and which relies so heavily on the ineffectual Stephen Pearson is bound to struggle. Pearson simply does not have the conviction required to spearhead an attack; his powerful running gets him into some tremendous positions but once there it falls apart time and time again.

Although unsurprisingly he was not alone in the drab misadventure on display this Bank Holiday Monday; Gene Hunt would have done a better job that Nicky at right back, the latter of whom had an absolute nightmare throughout.

The midfield looks tired and largely ineffectual although it’s hard to blame Michael Tonge who spent the previous eighteen months before signing on loan on the sidelines, nor Robbie Savage who has surely played far too many times for a man of his age and recent injury history.

Paul Green however simply seems to have gone off the boil and the days of him bounding beyond the strikers appears to be a distant memory.

Surely nothing less than a complete overhaul of perhaps the weakest area of the team is needed in the summer; this unit gets overrun in defence and aside from Tonge seems to offer almost zero in the way of a goal threat, a necessity when the top striker has just eleven goals on the season.

We can bemoan the loss of Kris Commons for forever and a day but in his continued absence the performances have not been good enough. Even when the recent defensive assurance has led to the Rams nicking three points against the likes of Leicester and co – we hardly played well in those matches and relied on the trio of Bywater, Barker and Anderson to get us through it; we couldn’t hope that they alone would manage that each and every week.

The reality of the situation was on display just three minutes in, when a well taken corner was eventually poked into the net by towering defender Gareth McAuley, who had a great game throughout. It was a poor goal to concede after recent defensive displays but the cross made it and sometimes you are going to concede at set pieces, even with Shaun Barker back there.

For much of the next hour the Rams had most of the ball but it was Ipswich having the bulk of the chances; Daryl Murphy was denied by Bywater when a goal seemed inevitable and then the former Sunderland striker was inches away from Wickham’s cross as the Rams looked less assured than in recent weeks.

Only when Rob Hulse came on for Hunt and Paul Green moved to full back did the Rams manage to build up ahead of steam and a couple of chances soon went begging as Pearson headed straight at the keeper and Hulse nodded an effort over the bar when he should have done better.

Then just when it looked like an equaliser might be on the cards Ipswich countered and scored to end the Rams’ hopes.

Young Wickham ran down the right virtually unchallenged since so many of the white shirts were understandably up field trying to score and his cross was tucked in by Carlos Edwards to surely complete a relatively straightforward victory for the Tractor Boys.

The drama did not end there though; Rob Hulse suddenly conjured a goal when he put Savage’s cross past Murphy.

A grand stand finish was on the cards, that is until the referee decided it was time he took centre stage. First he sent Nigel Clough to the stand and then issuing a red card to Stephen Pearson both for some verbal nonsense.

Whether they were deserved or not who knows but it was a sorry end to a sorry game that had just enough life left in it to see the excellent Wickham see off McEveley and burst clear to score a third soul destroying Ipswich goal.

Over and out.

 

Man Of The Match:

Mr Moss – It seemed, by his antics late in the game, Moss desired as much attention as possible. The least we can do is oblige.

This is one Moss that I doubt will ever grow on those who reside at Pride Park on match day.

 

Managers Reaction:

Nigel Clough spoke to the media after the match and in regards to being sent to the stands was asked if he had sworn at anyone? :

"Quite possibly, yes”.

"The referee asked me to repeat something. I did and I asked was he sending me off for that, and he wouldn't answer".

"He asked me to go so I went and sat in the stand. He then asked me to move higher but the stand's the stand. It has to be something I said."


When asked why Pearson was sent off:

"I think it was for something he said as well as he was walking away but I don't think it was aimed at the referee".

"But we have missed a good opportunity to get another point or three on the board. Despite all the warning before the game, not to concede early, we conceded after three minutes from a corner”.

"That's the most disappointing thing, all the talking done in the last 48 hours, to stay unbeaten, that's the mentality we are still some way from instilling."

 

Captains Reaction:

Robbie Savage speaking about Stephen Pearson being sent off:

"I was with Stephen Pearson and if the referee has sent him off for what he said, he should have sent all 22 players off, I even heard (Ipswich manager) Roy Keane swearing at the ref".

"He (Moss) has set a precedent now and it will be interesting to see how many players he sends off in his next game. However, we can harp on about the referee all we want but we have lost the game ourselves. It's as simple as that. No excuses."

"I thought we started with the mentality that we were safe before the game".

"We need to have the mentality, as a group, that every game is as important as the last. It was a poor start, because we knew Ipswich would start quick – and they got the goal”.

"The rest of the first half was even and I thought we played well in the second half. We were on top and passed the ball well but we got caught with a sucker punch for their second goal. We got back in it but then got caught again for the third”.

"We just need the mindset to get over that line as quickly as we can, because now we are looking over our shoulders again. We could have been in the top half if we had won, so it was a big chance missed."

 

Next Match:

Barnsley v Derby County

Saturday 10th April – 3pm

 

 

Photo: Action Images



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