Ramballs

It was being billed as Clough jr vs Ferguson jr as the media constantly reminded us of both Nigel and Darren’s fathers achievements. Our Nigel had beaten Ferguson Snr last season and was now looking to complete the Ferguson set. Darren Ferguson has high hopes for his Peterborough team as he talks of reaching the Premier League but before he can do that he had to take his Posh side to Pride Park. It’s ok though because they’d done their homework, as he told the BBC “We are going there to win as in any other game, we know their strengths and we know their weaknesses,” he said. “At the end of the day it’s all about us and we can go there and give a good account of ourselves”

To be fair to Peterborough, they did give a decent account of themselves but the first half was dominated by The Rams as the five man midfield chased everything, passed well and always wanted the ball. The defence weren’t troubled too much and the first 45 minutes were satisfying for Derby fans.

The first goal came from a badly cleared corner as Miles Addison threw himself at the ball to head it in at the far post. This was a brave move as he collided with a Peterborough player and injured himself along the way. This minor knock was unlikely to keep Miles down for long though; he picked himself up and carried on with the match, playing a blinder if I do say so myself.

The Posh followed up The Rams goal with a goal of their own after new boy Tommy Rowe crossed low into the six yard box to George Boyd who slotted home with ease. Seconds of joy for The Posh fans were soon replaced by disaapointment as they realised the flag was up; offside!

Derby were better in possession and I can honestly say that I didn’t feel too concerned when Peterborough attacked. They did have a few efforts, notably Aaron Mcleans shot which went wide from ten yards.

The start of the second half saw Paul Green replaced by Kris Commons and The Rams appeared to shift to a 4-4-2 formation, with Commons playing alongside Steve Davies. The game seemed pretty even at times; only poor execution in the final third seemed to prevent either team from scoring. The exception to this was Dean Moxeys last ditch tackle which was sublime. Craig Mackail-Smith was clean through on goal and, in my mind, the only possible outcomes from the situation were a goal conceded or penalty awarded. Moxey proved me wrong in stunning style as he timed him sliding challenge to perfection and pulled the ball away from CMS.

The Posh were awarded a penalty though. Bywater came running out of his goal and was left stranded in a moment of madness. Shaun Batt ran onto the ball, knocked it past the keeper and went down under the challenge of the Derby goalie. From where I was sat, it seemed harsh. He got a touch but he kicked it out of play and would never have caught the ball had he not be brought down. That was irrelevent though, the penatly stood and now Bywater was the only man who can save the day.

He didn’t. George Boyd scored, sending Stephen Bywater the wrong way in the process.

I thought that was it. We were likely to be leaving with a point but I hadn’t banked on Gary Teale being in the right place at the right time.

Kris Commons played the ball into the box from a corner and the following goal mouth scramble resulted in the ball landing at Gary Teales feet and he tapped the ball in from a few yards.

Full Time: Derby 2 - 1 Peterborough

I make no apologies for being Derby biased. If you want impartial reporting, don’t visit a Derby County blog written by a Derby County fan

Check out the some unbiased (and a couple of biased) match reports from around the web.

DCFC Official Site
Peterborough Official Site
Sky Sports
Derby Evening Telegraph
Guardian
Daily Telegraph
Daily Mail
Daily Express
Daily Star
The Times
BBC
Ramzone
Derby County Mad
Football.co.uk