A defiant win for the Rams is a show of spirit
“WE’RE Derby County, we’ll fight to the end”.
The defiant chant rang out from the South Stand at Pride Park Stadium after skipper Tom Lawrence drilled his winning penalty into the net during Sunday’s 3-2 victory over Bournemouth.
Defiance and resilience off the pitch, defiance and resilience on the pitch – and bags of it.
Victory was a welcome lift following the latest of many tough weeks for the stricken club in which its plight continued to unravel with the appearance of a Statement of Affairs that made for grim reading.
Derby went into the game rock bottom of the Championship on minus three points, having been hit with a further nine points deduction last week to take the total points docked this season to 21.
No team has survived in the Championship having been handed a 12-point punishment, never mind almost double that, and the Rams face a mammoth task to avoid dropping into League One next season.
They have been written off and, true, they need something of a football miracle but it was clear from the performance against Bournemouth, a team that had lost only one of 17 League games, that they will not go down without a fight.
Points can be deducted but the spirit of the players, manager Wayne Rooney, his staff and the fans cannot be taken away.
The immense character the players showed deserves great credit.
They could have gone under when Jason Knight’s early header was cancelled out by goals from Jaidon Anthony and Dominic Solanke to put the visitors 2-1 up at the break.
But no. The players stepped up and skipper Tom Lawrence played a leading role.
His equaliser was from the top drawer. Seemingly crowded out in the area, he stayed calm, made space for himself and curled an exquisite finish across and beyond Mark Travers’ dive.
And when Graeme Shinnie was bundled over in the area it was Lawrence who accepted the responsibility of dispatching the penalty.
This was Lawrence the match winner, a role he has played on occasions in the past and one he has the ability to fill more often.
Brimming with confidence, his dancing feet followed by a surge and cute cross set up a chance for Colin Kazimrichards, but the striker at full stretch could only head wide.
There was still time for Lawrence to try to lob the keeper from 40 yards – and he very nearly did.
A first win in eight matches lifted Derby on to zero points and for a second time this season they climbed out of the red as regards points.
There is likely to be a quiz question on that in the future, especially if they manage to pull off that miracle.