Went up to my seat... the stadium itself is not too bad, would not say as good as the KC but in its own way it is a nice venue. It's easy to get to which is always a plus point. Right, back to the game in hand...
The team announced had changes which most people expected to be honest, myself included. When reading the team on the screen before the game I half thought we were going 4-3-3 with no recognized left sided player in the team. It appears Stuart Green was to play there which surprised me but the way Stuart had been playing I imagine he probably thought that his confidence would help him play on his weaker side.
The teams came out, quite a large crowd greeted them and the game began. Straight away you could tell this was to be a better game. The thing that impressed me most about Derby from the off was their midfield, they ran the show if I was being honest and we looked like we had no midfield to speak of at times. The game itself was lively with us having some good breaks forward but looking shaky in defence. Wiseman especially looked nervous at the beginning, understandably so especially with Paynter in front of him, who seemed to be doing nothing to help him out defensively and next to bonny going forward. On the left hand side was a different matter, Rogers' return made us look assured at left back and Green was playing very well I thought on the left hand side. Fagan was running around all over the place and scaring their defence rigid but Parkin looked tired early on.
My mate said Green looked like a fish out of water but was doing okay then within a minute of that comment we see what I personally thought was the goal of the season for Hull City, a cracking volley from over 20 yds which flew into the top corner of the net! This set us all off singing away, the Derby fans did not really know what to say or do as we had the momentum but to be fair to their players they carried on going about their job and controlling the midfield. Half time: 1-0.
Second half I thought we started quite brightly. Parkin went close with a shot that would have taken the keepers head off if a defender had not blocked it. Cort knocked a ball back into the box on 4 successive corners with no one there to finish. Ellison came on and ran about a lot, had one good shot but apart from that did not do too much. Green worked tirelessly and Andrews came into the game in the second half and was not a million miles away with a free kick. The trouble was towards the end we started to look desperate and often just cleared the ball without any conviction. You could sense that they were beginning to get on top in the game, then it happened in the strangest of circumstances. Wiseman was adjudged to have pushed the Derby striker. At the time, the Derby fans did not even claim for it so it came as a massive shock when it was given. They dispatched the penalty promptly and it frittered away into a 1-1 draw which looking at the whole game I would say was probably a fair result.
Much better game than Saturday and well done to the lads and thanks for a good day out all in all at Derby.
Player Ratings...
Myhill - 7... Commanding the area once again and is looking more and more assured. His kicking again was a bit varied though.
Rogers - 8... Glad he was back, our defence down that flank looked more solid with him being the more defensively minded option than Dawson. Give Dawson a go on the left wing maybe?
Delaney - 7... Not as good as in previous weeks but still solid when called upon.
Cort - 8... Defensively good but more to the point won everything at set pieces in the box which could have easily created a few goals.
Wiseman - 7... Vry nervous at the start but got more and more into the game as it wore on and will benefit from these last few games I think, then decide whether he will be a regular or maybe send him out on loan for a good run of games next year. Definitely one hell of a player for the future.
Green - 8... Three Man of the Matches in a row for me. Whatever PT said to him a while ago has done him the world of good and if he carries this on through into next season then could prove that he is a good quality CCC player which will be vital for us.
Andrews - 7... Very quiet in the first half but came into the game in the second half. All it seems to do is take him going for one 50-50 challenge and that starts him off. Why he cannot do it for 90 minutes puzzles me!
Welsh - 7... Very similar to Andrews except he added a bit more attacking-wise. Played well and I would like to see him play the last two games just so he can show us and PT he is worthy of a regular start next year.
Paynter - 5... Very, very quiet and right wing does him no favours whatsoever. I would have liked to see him partner Fagan up front to be honest instead of the tired Beast.
Fagan - 7... He ran about all afternoon again but again no return for it. If he is to play as a striker we should expect goals from him for the number of games he plays. You cannot fault his effort and pace but I am looking at the position he is meant to be playing and he is not producing the goods goal-wise. I watched his positioning especially on corners and the only times he was in the box was when he was actually behind Cort...? I am sure this is a tactic of some description but Cort nodded it back into the 6 yd box where I would have thought he should have been.
Parkin - 6... The Beast is tired out if you ask me. He needs a rest. He is winning less and less and his season could drift away before him which is a shame on the lad who has helped so much to get us safe. Still, despite that he still almost got a couple of goals again!!
Subs
Ellison - 5... Bye bye Ellison. I cannot honestly be bothered to go into the same old story about effort but no skill as such.
Duffy - 6... Could not really comment on him as he was not on long enough to really do anything. I think him and Fagan instead of Parkin for the last 20 minutes may have changed the shape of the game...?
What next?
Preston at home. We have ensure our safety now after this weekend, the relegated teams are decided, now let's see if we can have a say on where the play-off teams finish and try and put up a couple of spirited displays for the last two games to give us fans a taste of what's to come!!!