Rams blow their chance and Sonny sees red
WARNE’S MEN SLIP AGAINST COBBLERS IN PROMOTON RACE
DERBY County blew the chance to move seven points clear of Bolton Wanderers in the race for automatic promotion from League One as Sam Hoskins’ first-half goal was enough for Northampton Town’s 1-0 victory at Sixfields.
After a scrappy opening, a lovely touch by Nathaniel Mendez-laing took him into the Cobbers’ penalty area before he picked out Rams team-mate Liam Thompson, whose shot was blocked.
But a better chance was to come soon after when Louie Sibley picked out Martyn Waghorn at the back post but the Rams striker blazed over the bar.
That miss proved to be costly as Northampton took the lead when, although Kane Wilson appeared to be fouled in the build-up, Louis Appere managed to get the better of Sonny Bradley to swing in a cross that Sam Hoskins converted brilliantly on the volley.
The Rams responded, creating another two good opportunities as Ebou Adams saw a shot cleared off the line by Sam Sherring before a fine cross by Kane Wilson picked out the midfielder, who was unmarked but planted his header over the bar.
The Cobblers then went close to a second after the break when Manny Monthe let fly from the edge of the box with a powerful 20-yard strike, which cannoned off the post and away to safety.
Derby pushed for an equaliser and Waghorn saw an effort cleared off the line as the Rams were ultimately frustrated in their attempt to record a fifth win on the trot.
■ A big chance blown
With everybody else on the international break, this game was presented as a brilliant opportunity to turn the psychological screw on the other sides in the top six.
But as is the Derby way, they blew an incredible chance to move two points behind leaders Portsmouth, while the cheers at promotion rivals Bolton, Barnsley and Peterborough United could almost be heard at fulltime.
And ultimately this was a day in which everything that could go wrong invariably did.
For a start, the Rams spurned three terrific chances in the first half before Nathaniel Mendez-laing limped off injured, while Sonny Bradley was sent off late in the game.
Rams head coach Paul Warne said his side did not cope particularly well with the pressure of having to win but it just looked a tired performance in which there was little in the way of inspiration, particularly in the final third.
Northampton’s gameplan wasn’t tough to work out as they played with one man up front and tried to hit the Rams on the counter-attack, which is how their goal came about, even though there appeared to be a foul on Kane Wilson in the build-up.
The biggest positive is that promotion is still in the Rams’ hands with six games remaining. You wouldn’t
want it the other way round and all defeat did here was ensure that the margin for error just becomes smaller.
But let’s be honest. No team, be it Bolton, Peterborough, Portsmouth or Barnsley, are going to win their remaining seven games on the spin.
None of those sides have managed it once in the league this season and if they do it and manage to go up then they will have deserved it. But this was a wake-up call for the Rams in that standards cannot drop. Beating Blackpool next on Good Friday is crucial.
■ Blackett-taylor’s time to shine
The £300,000 signing from Charlton Athletic has not had the best of starts to his Rams career, not helped by a niggling hamstring injury he suffered not long after his arrival.
But he showed flashes of the qualities in his 30 minutes on the pitch at Northampton, which suggested he is now ready to show us the brilliance that made him one of the most feared wingers in the division.
There were a couple of moments when he showcased blistering speed and quick feet. He delivered a couple of decent balls into the box, Curtis Nelson going close to making the most of one of them.
It was an encouraging contribution from the former Aston Villa player who now has an opportunity to really make his mark in this promotion push. If Mendez-laing is going to be missing for some time (more of that below) then Blacketttaylor is the next-best winger in line, given his pace.
If he could step up to the plate now, it would certainly be most welcome because, as he proved at Charlton, when he is in the mood, nobody can live with him which is why the Rams signed him in the first place.
■ Bradley relying on video to stop him being hit in the pocket
A terrible day at the office was epitomised by the red card that Sonny Bradley picked up in stoppage time and he really can have no complaints. Warne said afterwards that the centre-back had protested his innocence but he is now staring at a three-match ban at a critical time of the season.
Unless there is strong video evidence that can categorically show he didn’t aim a headbutt at Manny Monthe, then he will be missing a key part of the run-in.
He won’t be able to face Blackpool, Portsmouth or Wycombe Wanderers, three critical fixtures that are the hardest of the final six games of the campaign.
It was a needless, stupid and reckless altercation which served absolutely no purpose other than to help Northampton secure all three points. And it now has major ramifications for the team, given Warne will probably now have to switch from three at the back given there are no other fit centre-backs available.
Warne said he will review the incident because he had not seen it again before he came out to do his post-match duties.
But if it does turn out that Bradley has no defence, then Warne said a fine will be coming his way.
The first thing Bradley should do is apologise to his team-mates. Yes, it’s an emotionally charged game, yes there was a lot at stake, but he’s let himself down at a time when the Rams are virtually down to bare bones as it is.
■ The injuries keep on mounting and Mendez-laing blow is a nightmare
It’s fair to say that a season of the TV show Holby City has encountered fewer casualties than the Rams this term and they still continue to pile up.
Tom Barkhuizen is out for three weeks, Craig Forsyth is struggling with a calf problem and the list of players who are currently out would make for an excellent starting 11 that could probably challenge for promotion on its own.
But the biggest nightmare that nobody wanted to contemplate ended up happening when Nathaniel Mendez-laing limped off with a hamstring problem in the second half.
There was a point just after it happened when Warne asked the winger if he was okay to which he replied he wasn’t. Derby’s head coach shook his head and his last word was sake. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to work out what his first word was.
It is hoped that his hamstring injury was just a blow to the leg rather than a pull given it did happen during a tackle.
But to lose him for the rest of the season now would be incomprehensible given he is the best winger in League One and a pivotal player in this Derby team.