Derby 1-1 Hull
A mirrored performance from Wednesday night, albeit we were slightly off the pace and still lacking the end product, which is frustrating when we are chalking up 11 shots and having 58% of the possession. Similar to Burnley, Derby were lacklustre, giving the ball cheaply to us, but we were not able to capitalise. Going forward is not a problem, either, with plenty of movement down the channels, although we have a habit of getting boxed in, with the player on the ball finding it difficult to hold the ball and get it into the box. Thus, every ball pinged across into the box was overcooked as they found themselves panicking and rushing the cross.
We have an issue with set-pieces at the moment, defending and attacking them, something that must be rectified. They are schoolboy errors and, with our attacking threat, once we nail them, we should be benefiting from them. Other than that, it was a solid performance and other aspects of our game were flawless; especially Hughes–who already has two chants, becoming the fan’s favourite–and the rest of the back line.
The line-ups were announced at 2pm and we already knew Liam Millar would be absent (it has been confirmed he is out for the remainder of the season), picking up an ankle injury on Wednesday. Walter made one more adjustment to the side he fielded during the week, benching Pedro and starting Bedia. That meant, in a 4-4-3 formation, we lined up as follows: Pandur, in goal; Coyle, Jones, Hughes and Drameh as the back-line; Slater, Puerta and Simons anchoring the middle; and Belloumi, Kamara and Bedia as the attacking three.
With a full away crowd backing them, the Tigers came out of their lair feisty and up to the mark, clicking early and rolling the ball around nicely. Yes, we did face more shots in the first half, but as the half progressed, the home atmosphere drew them closer to their goal. What pleased me the most was our defending. Hughes makes a huge difference, winning every duel and clearing it. Coyle covers ground well and is a real driving force for our attack. It is a relief to be able to rely on our back-line again, just like we did last year.
Nonetheless, neither team broke the deadlock, but came close with Kamara coming the closest twice for us, firing one from a tight angle into the keeper’s hands, and later on, lifting the ball off target, into the home end. It was very difficult to spot Derby’s attacks as they were at the other side of the pitch, but their best chance came from a corner, when their unmarked player headed the ball down towards the bottom-right corner, which was saved by Pandur.
The remaining minutes were pretty dull, with both sides holding it out for halftime and running out of ideas. It was evident that we needed to shake it up a little, bringing some more energy to the team, in hope of giving The Rams a headache. Indeed, Walter brought on Kasey Palmer and Omur for Slater and Puerta, which was strange as he was our best player on the pitch.
The changes were effective and in the 57th minute we found ourselves in complete ecstasy, taking the lead from an absolute beauty by Simons, who has netted two in two. Belloumi headed the ball down after the ball was kicked into the air and laid it on to Simons, who struck a low, powerful shot towards the bottom-left corner, which nestled into the back of the net. Hopefully, more players can gain the confidence to shoot from range, as it will be helpful if we are struggling to score from the run of play.
As is our wont at the moment, the lead did not feel secure, and despite creating a few more chances after our goal, we conceded in the 66th minute, which was embarrassing for us in the away corner, celebrating our lead. The hosts were awarded a free-kick from range and Osborn floated in an accurate ball, which was met by Brown, whose header looped over Pandur, hitting the back of the net. When a goal like that ends up in the net, you have to question who was allowing him to have that much time to jump and direct it in. Another goal, which could have been prevented.
The half dragged on and was uneventful, which was a shame because we deserved our lead as we were the better side.
In the next transfer window, we need to recruit a new striker or somebody who is not afraid to attack as our players still seem nervous and hesitant with the ball in the box. Bedia needs more experience and rotating him will not help with that. And, when we do turn to our bench we have an old and another inexperienced striker. It will not be long before we start playing our midfielders in the number nine role, just like we did last season.
We have moved down one place in the table, sitting in 15th position, which is probably where we will be hanging around for the rest of the season. Hopefully, that is not the case, but it is hard to envisage moving up the table if we continue to pick up draws. Our next game is against Portsmouth at home next week, another promoted side. They currently sit at the bottom, but that means nothing and we should not write them off.
What a frustrating season.
