Derby County 1-1 Middlesbrough
Derby County maintained their unbeaten Championship record with a 1-1 draw against Middlesbrough. The Rams have now drawn all three of their league games this season and still await their first competitive win under new Head Coach Paul Clement.
Kike Garcia gave Middlesbrough a 16th minute lead, against the run of play, with the visitor’s first serious attack of the game.
Despite Derby dominating possession and taking the game to Middlesbrough in the second-half, it looked like time was going to run out. Step-up substitute Johnny Russell to equalise in the 87th minute and salvage a point for the Rams.
Jimmy Greaves used to say, “It’s a funny old game.” And indeed it is. Apart from two crazy away draws at the business end of last season – a 3-3 and a 4-4 – the Rams rarely drew under previous Head Coach Steve McClaren. The Rams either won or lost.
This season, under Clement, Derby have done nothing but draw.
That aside, it was still a funny old game against Middlesbrough. For the second time this season, Clement’s script was torn up as he lost two central midfielders to injury before half-time. Jamie Hanson went of with concussion and blurred vision in the 38th minute and Jeff Hendrick was withdrawn with a dead leg just four minutes later.
The injuries disrupted the Rams who ended up adopting three different systems during the game – four if you include the patched together system they finished the first-half with.
Clement made two changes – Stephen Warnock for Craig Forsyth and Andreas Weimann for Russell – and sent the Rams out in a 4-3-3 formation.
For the first quarter of an hour they looked bright, sharp, passed the ball well, pushed forward and generally bossed the game. George Thorne and Hanson in central midfield saw lots of the ball and looked to pass it forward, rather than sideways or back.
Hendrick got forward and caused problems. Chris Martin led the line well, receiving the ball with his back to goal, and linking play. A lively Tom Ince made himself busy, but Weimann was out-of-sorts and his first touch let him down.
Warnock grew into the game and whilst he didn’t look as comfortable as Forsyth, the crosses he did put in were of consistent quality. Chris Baird, on the other side, was unable to impose himself going forward.
A number of early crosses from Warnock and Ince flew across the box but nobody was able to get on the end of them.
Hendrick came closest in the opening quarter of an hour when his sizzling 20-yard shot stung the gloved fingers of Middlesbrough goalkeeper Dimitrios Konstantpoulos.
Then came the sucker punch on 16 minutes. Middlesbrough attacked down our right, George Friend hit a speculative shot which found its way to Kike and the Middlesbrough striker clinically dispatched it passed Scott Carson to give the visitor’s the lead.
Middlesbrough grew in confidence after that and started to take control as the Rams began to lose their way.
Kike almost doubled the lead a couple of minutes later when he headed a Stewart Downing cross narrowly wide.
A Middlesbrough free-kick was crossed low into the box on 20 minutes, nobody was able to get a foot on it and it went wide.
Warnock hit a 21st minute cross into the penalty area and Martin, at full-stretch, headed over the bar.
On 25 minutes, former Rams loanee Daniel Ayala headed a Grant Leadbitter cross a fraction too high.
A great move on 34 minutes saw Warnock play a lovely ball into the box for Hendrick but, with Weimann in his way, the Irish international was unable to get a shot in and the ball eventually went out for a goal-kick.
Clement was forced into two changes due to injury. On 38 minutes Ryan Shotton replaced Hanson. Friend had earned a deserved yellow card for a strong tackle on Hanson after 22 minutes that sent the Rams youngster up in the air and he landed on his head. Hanson lasted 16 minutes after that before being withdrawn with concussion and blurred vision.
As that substitution was being made, Hendrick received treatment and hobbled off after a Middlesbrough player went through the back of him – a challenge the referee surprisingly deemed to be a fair one.
Johnny Russell replaced Hendrick after 42 minutes. Baird took up Hanson’s position in midfield and Shotton went to right-back. Ince dropped back into midfield and Russell played wide right but, in all honesty, the attacking players were all over the place and I’m not sure anybody knew quite what system they were supposed to be playing.
That said, Derby finished the half strongly and created two good chances in the four minutes the referee added on.
Jason Shackell, at the far post, got on the end of an Ince corner but his effort lacked sufficient power to cross the line.
With time running out, Ince hit a blistering free-kick from the edge of the ‘D’ which Konstantpoulos brilliantly saved with a dive low to his right.
Clement organised his players during the break and they returned to the pitch in a 4-2-3-1 formation. Thorne and Baird in midfield, Russell on the right, Weimann on the left, Ince in the middle, with Martin leading the line. It wasn’t long though before Ince and Russell swapped, a move that worked as Ince became far more influential out wide.
One of the reasons Derby are drawing all the time is that Clement has made them much tighter at the back and the central defensive partnership of Shackell and Richard Keogh is shaping up very nicely indeed. Keogh was back to his best against Kike and Shackell wasn’t far behind.
Warnock and Shotton were very solid defensively. Warnock grew in confidence going forward as the game progressed. Shotton took up good forward positions but far too often he passed the ball straight back to where it had come from.
Baird slid a lovely ball through to Ince ten minutes after the restart, Ince ran into the box and was just about to shoot when a defender stretched out a leg and knocked the ball out for a corner.
Middlesbrough were content to sit back with eight, even nine men behind the ball, and protect what they had, but when the opportunity to counter-attack presented itself they looked quick and dangerous.
Albert Adomah broke forward on a surging run after 56 minutes and shot wide.
On the hour mark Warnock crossed low into the box, Weimann attempted a shot but swung and missed, the ball got stuck between the Austrian’s legs, and Middlesbrough cleared.
Moments later, at the other end, Kike had another good shot that was blocked out for a corner.
Shotton played the ball into the penalty area on 63 minutes, a tightly marked Martin looked to control the ball and went down in the area only for the referee to award a free-kick to the visitors – presumably for backing-in.
Ince slammed a 71st minute free-kick into the Middlesbrough wall.
Derby changed to a third system on 71 minutes when Darren Bent replaced Weimann. Bent and Martin played up front in a 4-4-2, with Ince wide right, Russell wide left, Thorne and Baird in the middle.
With the majority of a 30,885 crowd behind the Rams, Derby County took the game to a Middlesbrough side who were proving difficult to break down.
Russell and Warnock combined well down the left on 73 minutes, Warnock played the ball to Ince who ran into a crowded penalty area, the ball bounced up, five Rams players stopped and appealed in vain for hand ball, allowing Middlesbrough an easy clearance.
Another counter-attack on 79 minutes saw Friend cross the ball into the penalty area and substitute Adam Reach scuffed his shot and the ball bobbled wide.
With nine minutes remaining, an inch perfect cross from Russell saw Konstantpoulos brilliantly save Martin’s header on the line.
The Rams threw everything at Middlesbrough in the closing minutes but it looked like the visitor’s resolute and determined defending would see them hold on for the win…
…until the 87th minute…
Thorne took a free-kick from just inside his own half and launched it towards the penalty spot. Martin jumped and challenged Ayala in the air with Bent behind him. They all missed the ball and Russell ran in behind everybody and smashed the ball hard and low through Konstantpoulos’s legs and into the back of the net.
Derby County were level and deservedly so.
The referee added three minutes at the end. The Rams pressed for a winning goal but time ran out.
So it’s played three, drawn three, and the Rams remain unbeaten in the Championship.
Surely we won’t have long to wait for that first win of the season...
Derby County (4-3-3 / 4-2-3-1 / 4-4-2): Scott Carson [7]; Chris Baird [6], *Richard Keogh [8]*, Jason Shackell [7], Stephen Warnock [7]; George Thorne [6], Jamie Hanson [6] (Ryan Shotton, 38 [6]), Jeff Hendrick [6] (Johnny Russell, 42 [7]); Tom Ince [7], Chris Martin [6], Andreas Weimann [5] (Darren Bent, 71 [–]). Subs not used: Lee Grant, Craig Forsyth, Alex Pearce, Simon Dawkins.