I have to say that I have become very pessimistic this season and the
thought of no Zamora, Barrett, and Blackwell left me thinking how could we
compete against Poom, Kinkladze, Christie, Robert Lee, Ravanelli etc etc.
As we got to Withdean the good news was Zamora was playing, but Ravenelli
didn't fancy it and Poom was off on loan to Sunderland! I wonder if John
Gergory recognised all his players, the way they played they clearly didn't
know who was who!
The first half was very scrappy and I felt we gave them too much respect. I
was surprised Coppel kept the 5-3-2 formation but once again it worked and
the back line looked good and Mayo played especially well as a wing back.
Sadly Hinshelwood dislocated his shoulder just before half time so Jones
came on for him and slotted in as left back leaving Mayo with almost a free
role. Derby were appalling. Christie should IMHO been sent off for his two
footed sliding tackle on Kuipers.
The only Derby player to show any spirit or any interest in the game was Burton. None of us knew why Mayo's first 'goal' was disallowed but 0-0 at half time was probably about right.
Sidwell battled well in his first start and Carpenter was also playing well,
but they both had a couple of strange moments. To start with Christie
obviously has picked up Gregory's spoilt child mentality and walked after
kicking a ball away before a Brighton free kick.
Soon after Carpenter had afree kick in a good position. I am not sure what he intended but the residents behind the empty goal were in danger of being hit by the ball returning from orbit! Sidwell then followed suit. Hart hit a long cross,
which swung in, hit the bar and Sidwell ran on to meet the ball with a
glorious chance to put us 1-0 up, but ballooned it high over the bar.
Just a few minutes later and a beauty of a corner is met by the head of Mayo,
ahhh it hit the post but Mayo kept his cool and drove the rebound into the
net. The ground went ballistic and the players celebrated as much as the
goals that won us promotion last season.
I thought we held on well after that with no scares and deserved the points for our second half performance.
Ravenelli was restricted to a stroll up the line, a couple of pathetic
stretches and back to the dug out! If its true he is on #43,000 a week, no
wonder Derby fans are getting despondent!
All I can say in response to the Derby fans singing "Who the f***ing hell are you" , well we are the team that beat you lot 1-0!!!
Mark R
My player ratings would be
Kuipers - 6 not a lot to do
Watson - 6 can't remember any mistakes or brilliant play either!
Mayo - 8 played with more belief and his passing was more accurate than
normal (even Phil Blackman was heard to utter "well played ginger bo**ocks")
Cullip - 9 my MOTM , superb
Hart - 6 battled hard as ever
Carpenter - 7 good game
Pethick - 7 solid at the back and covered loads of ground
Hinshelwood - 6 looked ok for the 40+ mins was on the pitch
Zamora - 6 clearly unfit but gave as much as he could
Rodger - 7 helped keep Derby at bay
Sidwell - 7 put himself about and battled well
Subs:
Jones - 7 injected some pace to the game, best display for a long time
Webb - 6 didn't fall over once and held the ball up well to waste time when
he was on for the last few minutes. He celebrated the goal like a madman!
Ps John Gregory, why did he spend almost the entire 90 minutes chatting to
the 4th official? Perhaps he was asking who his players were as he didn't
recognise them?