Rare goal as Holmes pounces but door left open for visitors
KAZIM-RICHARDS OFFERS FOCAL POINT BUT RAMS STILL STUCK AT BOTTOM OF TABLE
DERBY County’s winless run stretched to 10 matches when they drew 1-1 against Wycombe Wanderers at Pride Park Stadium.
Here are four talking points from the Rams’ latest performance.
ROONEY MAKES HIS MARK Whether you believe Wayne Rooney should be Derby County’s next permanent manager or not, he did make his mark in his first game as Rams’ interim boss.
He was bold in his team selection and with his tactics.
Rooney made seven changes to the side that lost at Middlesbrough a few days earlier and very few of the players who were left out can have much complaint.
Rooney showed he is not afraid to change things.
He said in his pre-match messages that he wanted to simplify matters, return to basics because there was an argument that Derby had tried to over-complicate things, over-think things this season.
The approach against Wycombe Wanderers was more direct, more positive and there was greater clarity in what the players were trying to do.
Unfortunately, it failed to bring the desired result and the 1-1 draw sees Derby remain bottom of the Championship with only seven points from 14 games and in big trouble.
This “must-win” ended in a draw. Now the “must-win” tag is attached to Coventry City’s visit tomorrow night.
SORRY STORY OF THE SEASON
Failure to score a second goal in games when on top has hampered Derby County all season and did so again in the Wycombe game.
The Rams were the better side in the first half and deservedly led through Duane Holmes’ clever finish for his first goal since early February.
It was Derby’s first goal in 473 minutes, almost eight hours of football, but they fell short in building on the lead – just as they did in matches against Nottingham Forest, Cardiff City and Bournemouth.
Their scoring record this season is pitiful.
They have yet to score more than once in any of their 16 games in all competitions and have failed to find the net in nine.
Holmes’ goal was Derby’s first from open play at home all season. That is a quite staggering statistic.
IMPORTANCE OF A FOCAL POINT
Colin Kazim-Richards provided a focal point to Derby County’s attack that they have missed since Chris Martin’s departure.
The much-travelled 34-year-old, who joined the Rams as a free agent in October, was handed his first start after six appearances as a substitute.
He was a vocal and physical presence, fighting battles with his markers and winning, holding the ball up and linking play.
Kazim-Richards had a good finish chalked off for offside and had an assist for Duane Holmes’ goal.
He is short of full match fitness and was replaced after 67 minutes, although there was a feeling that the double change in taking him and Holmes off was maybe made 10 minutes too early because they were missed in the final 20-odd minutes.
The “centre forward” makes a big difference to teams.
Derby have tried a number of players in the role this season but
those players are better suited to other positions in the team.
Martyn Waghorn, for example, never fails to put in a shift but his most effective displays have come when working from the right as an attacker.
VISITORS’ GAME-PLAN DISRUPTS DERBY
Derby were the better side in the first half but they faded in the second in the face of Wycombe’s gameplan.
The visitors’ brought on striker Adebayo Akinfenwa and he made a big difference. He helped to physically push Derby back and Wycombe forced the Rams to defend their area.
They did it well until the 81st minute when a cross to the back post caught out Andre Wisdom and goalkeeper David Marshall flapped at the ball before Matthew Bloomfield stabbed it into the net from close range.
Wycombe’s keeper Ryan Allsop had earlier made one brilliant save to deny George Evans and good saves from Duane Holmes and Matt Clarke, while Craig Forsyth saw his header cleared off the line.
Nineteen-year-old striker Jack Stretton came on for his Derby debut but it was Wycombe who came within inches of winning it when Garath McCleary’s firm drive bounced down off the underside of the bar and out.
Credit to Wycombe. Newly promoted from League One, they lost their first seven Championship matches but they have now lost only one of their last seven.