My Derby Report - a long overdue win for me

I was saying last night that I couldn't remember the last time I had seen us win a match so I had a look this morning. Unbelievably it was Boxing Day last season when I saw us beat Blackburn Rovers 2-0. The rest of the season reads Won 0 Drew 8 Lost 3. This season I had only seen one game before last night and that was the unlucky defeat to Ipswich. So that was a dozen games without that lovely winning feeling at the end of a match. What a great way to end that horrible sequence!

I was in two minds about whether or not to travel with bad weather forecast but I decided it was worth the risk. In the end there was no problem. It was an easy cruise down the A1/M1 with no drizzle until I was close to Barnsley, and then I managed to keep out of the rain during the match. Going home was trouble free as well; the North Yorkshire gales were several hours away. So, a good trip and a great match to watch as well. A raucous Derby following were in good voice early on and I was hoping that we could do something to shut them up. Harvey Barnes nearly did just that with a thumping drive from outside the box which nearly broke the crossbar in two. What a goal that would have been if it had crashed in off the underside, but Derby had their lucky escape and then made us pay three minutes later. A neat passing move involving our nemesis Chris Martin ended up with Johnny Russell curling in an easy one. There were so many red shirts in the box but he scored anyway.

As the half wore on I couldn't believe that we were losing and the Derby singing got louder and louder despite their team getting a footballing lesson from our bunch of newcomers. As others have already said, the football was sublime with quick passing movements and chances being created. The lack of sharpness in the box was letting us down though (nothing new there) and after dominating proceedings for nearly twenty minutes we seemed no nearer to grabbing an equaliser. But then came that rarity in our post-Conor world - a goal from a corner. Ryan Hedges planted the ball right onto Adam Jackson's head and our ever-improving centre half found the net despite being under severe pressure from several Derby players. Unfortunately we couldn't build on that and conceded again to a bundled in effort at the far post. Thus Derby went in at half time 2-1 up, undeservedly so.

There were no substitutions at half time and it looked likely that Hecky would stick with the starting line up for at least the first fifteen minutes or so. Then came the two changes that I was hoping for with Adam Hammill and Mamadou Thiam coming on in place of Hedges and George Moncur. Neither of those two had done anything wrong but the game was crying out for a bit of magic. It's obvious who we are going to call on for that and he delivered, big time! I don't know what has happened to Hammill this season but he seems to have gone back several years in time and is looking like the early version that we saw then. He is quick, beats a man regularly, hits beautiful crosses and scores fantastic goals. I know it has been a long time coming (since he last scored) but how ironic that the man who curled in two beauties on our previous two trips to Wembley did it again to ensure that we would get there again. His short corner routine with Barnes was sublime and Derby suggested that they have never seen a recent Barnsley match on video by giving him the room that he needed to thread a lovely shot through a forest of players and into the corner.

Before this though Thiam had shown us what a potentially great player we have with some good hold up play and terrific passes. His flicked header to Barnes led to the equaliser which was a beautifully constructed goal for Tom Bradshaw. He got on the end of a searching ball across the box and did what good strikers do - he bundled it in for his fifth goal of the season. It's clear to everyone surely that if you pair him up with someone like Thiam then we will get the rewards. I like Ike Ugbo but I think he will best be kept as an impact sub for this season, hopefully gaining the experience as he goes along.

It's always funny when you see a large, noisy crowd in the away end having a ball and singing their songs (the inevitable Que sera, sera.... of course), only for them to be silenced with two later sucker punches. No fair-minded Derby fan would say that they deserved a trip to Wembley though, surely. We went a bit quiet in the middle of the game but, apart from that, were full value for the win. I am very impressed with what I have seen so far from this new group, even though most of it has been on my computer screen. It was an absolute joy though last night. Great match, under the lights, the pitch slicked with rain and the right result in the end.

I wish I could get to Wembley next week but I can't, but I will be there on Saturday to, hopefully, see us break our duck at home to Villa. A home win over them is long overdue. I have already broken one long sequence so why not again on Saturday? I can't wait, and I really hope we give Conor a good welcome. I don't want to see his name being sung when he takes a corner at the Ponty End, but a respectful round of applause would be good to see.

 

I forgot to give praise to a couple more.

Joe Williams is looking like a seasoned professional - getting better all the time. He doesn't do the spectacular forward stuff but mops up very well across and just in front of the back line. Top notch passing as well. Incredible given his age.

Jason McCarthy - what an athlete and a great player as well. Could be our best number two since Nicky Eaden. Maybe even better.

Nobody put a foot wrong yesterday and it is going to be tough leaving anyone out when the absentees are fit again. You would think that Isgrove, Cavare, McGeehan and Fryers will expect to play. They are going to have to earn it though. Nobody is safe in this team. What a great position to be in.