Stubborn Rams continue unbeaten run
Derby County travelled to Ewood Park on a drizzly and misty Wednesday night match hoping to build upon their victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers on Sunday.
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Blackburn Rovers [0] Derby County [0] Attendance: 12,968
Head coach Paul Clement was enforced to make one change bringing in Jacob Butterfield for an ill Jeff Hendrick. The former Real Madrid assistant also brought back into the starting eleven former Rovers wing back Stephen Warnock for Craig Forsyth.
As the rain made the pitch very greasy and hard for players to keep control of the ball, the game got under way and it was the home side which had the better of the first chances, former Oldham Athletic winger Chris Taylor had two chances to break the deadlock, first from a clear header which he couldn’t target from a Rovers corner, the second where a pass from a team mate couldn’t get fully under control and went wide of Scott Carson’s goal.
Derby woke up in the eighteenth minute when some neat play down the right wing found Johnny Russell but the Scotsman’s shot was blocked by a Blackburn defender deflecting for a Derby corner.
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Swedish left sided player Olsson’s cross tested the Rams defence once more but little came from the resulting creative spell from the home side.
The game was largely end to end but due to the damp pitch, neither side could be clinical but the Rams’ best chance of the night fell to former Blackburn manager Paul Ince’s son Tom as he picked up the loose ball and stung the finger tips of the goalkeeper who pushed the ball away.
Half Time: Blackburn Rovers 0 Derby County 0
Defending deeply the Rams plan was to frustrate their hosts when Blackburn pressed to try and score first. Northern Irish midfielder Corry Evans couldn’t find the target after linking with the Rovers’ usual talisman Jordan Rhodes. At the other end Jacob Butterfield blazed a great attempt for Derby over the bar from a corner delivery which was only cleared to the edge of the box.
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Blackburn substitute John O’Sullivan thought he had nicked the win for Blackburn on the 80th minute mark after evading a defensive tackle his shot deflected above Carson but the former England goalkeeper clawed the ball above his head to deny the young Irish midfielder his first goal in the blue and white halved shirt before former Leicester winger Marshall dragged a tame shot wide to conclude the cagey midweek fixture.
Full Time: Blackburn Rovers 0 Derby County 0
Albeit this match not being a classic and memorable in terms of attacking prowess and might be remembered briefly by supporters by a littering of yellow cards shown by the referee for tackles that might have been less menacing in appearance if the weather had not been a factor. The Rams missed the chance to go third with this result, however it continues their best form in over a year but Paul Clement felt that getting their third goalless draw against a team from Lancashire this season might turn out to be a valuable one come the end of the season making it seven unbeaten since the first international break of the season and only one league defeat their opening twelve fixtures.
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With the SkyBet Championship starting to take shape, a quarter of the season gone, it appears that Derby will be one of front runners for the prizes at the end of the campaign, and should be aiming to resume this form if they want to reach the eighty points mark which seems to be a good bet for promotion.
Onwards to Huddersfield on Saturday, a place where a barmy 4-4 draw at the back end of last season showed the mentality of Steve McClaren’s methods at the helm of the Rams where scoring goals was for fun but leaking goals left, right and centre also took place. Paul Clement and his staff have certainly have put a lot of emphasis on working on that sink hole in defence and it is pleasing to see.
Teams:
Blackburn [4-4-1-1] –Steele, Marshall (Spurr – 90+4), Duffy, Hanley, Olsson, Delfouneso, Evans (y/c - 87), Akpan (y/c – 61 (Williamson – 84)), Taylor (y/c – 45+1 (O’Sullivan – 76)), Lawrence (y/c - 33) & Rhodes; Substitutes –Spurr, Williamson, O’Sullivan, Petshi, Nyambe, Lenihan &Raya.
DCFC [4-3-3] – Carson, Christie, Keogh (y/c – 45+3), Shackell, Warnock (Forsyth – 79), Thorne, Butterfield (Hanson – 71), Johnson (y/c - 40) , Ince, Martin ((capt) Bent – 71) & Russell; Substitutes – Forsyth, Pearce, Baird, Grant, Hanson, Bent & Weimann
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