DERBY COUNTY v PORTSMOUTH.............. League 1 # 45
Pride Park Stadium 1500 Saturday 29th April 2023
This is definitely a winnable game - after the dour draw back at their place in November, you still have to wonder which Derby will turnn up.
Derby are still keen on prolonging the agony of being 7th.....or 8th and I don't want to rely on Peterborough droppping points to be in the play-offs. Also bear in mind that Portsmouth still have everything to play for if they gain 3 pts against us and Peterborough implode.
So, thats what we/have to do to prolong our season and end up playing the Owls 3x on the bounce
So, simple really. And I'm off to organise another strike for next Tuesday. So, See You Next Tuesday.
Derby looked adequate against Burton but we are still failing to put teams to the sword and totally assert ourselves against them. This is a worry - just imagine if God forbid, we were without the services of Didzy?
Unfortunately I have received news about the arrival in the North Stand of some indivudual within spitting distance - I kid you not - who has threatened to even come and sit next to me.
We struggled down our left in the first half. Looked more secure with the back 4 later on, but by then they were playing for time.
NML's miss in the first 20 was almost criminal.
comment by 🏁 AnglianRam 🏁 (U17428)
posted 7 minutes ago
Scouse put it in slightly stronger terms 😂
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comment by 🏁 AnglianRam 🏁 (U17428)
posted 16 minutes ago
We struggled down our left in the first half. Looked more secure with the back 4 later on, but by then they were playing for time.
NML's miss in the first 20 was almost criminal.
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Exactly the word I used... not even on target 😒
Some further thoughts - Wildsmith great again and in the end we can thank him for the point. Knight and Roberts both excellent but I just wish K would use his left foot and R would use his right foot now and again. Curt and Fozzie were solid and I don't think C misplaced one pass today! Cash was excellent and won every header. Hourihane was rightly made MOM and he has hit form at just the right time. Bird not far behind although he faded a bit in the second half. Sibley disappointed albeit playing in his favoured position. Didzie did some memorable things and was so unlucky in the third minute. M-L showed why he is not playing at a higher level. He was frustrating today - too slow to move the ball and move it accurately and as others have said he should have scored early on. But I do hope we can have him next season. Smith was very good when he came on but Dobbin could not get in the game. Collo took his goal really well and was a nuisance. Barks did OK.
So whatever we may or may not do next Sunday let's hope Barnsley get at least a point!
Frustrating performances by Sibley and NML. Had the latter scored his sitter the game would probably have panned out very differently. His crossing and passing also leave a lot to be desired. He does scare defenders though. Sibley had too little impact today. I think Warne is likely to stick with it now though - we look a bit more secure generally with this formation and with decent options on the bench to change it around if needed.
Just a few additional thoughts to get us to 150...
Sparkling first 20 minutes with a fantastic atmosphere. Cant remember it being that loud, when Ive been there, since 2014. Credit to the Pompey fans who were loud throughout.
Collins was inspired when he came on. Really put himself about and changed the nature of the game. Shame about the wayward conversion towards the end
A second goal for Collins and Spart's head would have exploded. He did well when he came on and his movement for the goal was good as you would expect from an experienced centre-forward, guessing where the ball might end up.
Given the relative lack of impact of the two Number 10s yesterday I wondered whether starting Collins up front might be an option, with Didzy dropping back to replace either NML or Sibley. But then Warne made a comment post-match about how, when Portsmouth got into the game after their goal, Bird and Hourihane were being left with too much work to do. Scurrying around helping out the midfield isn't what we want Didzy to be doing.
Whether we have one, three or four games left in our season, every one will be against a team that has been better than us over the course of the season. I wonder whether Warne might want an extra midfielder and go to a 5-3-2 with either Sibley dropping into a more conventional midfield position or one of Smith and White coming in. That would leave Didzy with one of Collins or NML alongside him. I still fear for us when teams gain the upper hand and up the tempo.
