MK Dons 1 Derby 3

This match is one, that in all honesty should have happened a couple of seasons ago with MK Dons threatening to make the jump up to the Championship since the days when Paul Ince was in charge. It's been a long hard slog up to this league and a couople of play-off defeats later here they are, for the firsst ever meeting between the two sides.

The starting 11's for both teams (@Ed_DawesBeeb)

Paul Clement made 3 changes from the team that drew against Burnley with Chris Baird, Stephen Warnock and Tom Ince returning to the fold replacing George Thorne, Craig Forsyth and Andreas Weimann. While I gather that Thorne had a bit of an injury and Weimann wasn't really involved in the game on Monday, I can't help but feel this was harsh on Forsyth who I don't think has put a foot wrong this season, especially defensively.

Anyway, off to the pub I went, only to find that the main match on the tele was between two little known teams called Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur and not my beloved Derby! To say I was shocked was an understatement, but I took it in my stride and settled down in a corner to watch the match on a much smaller screen, with no commentary. It was a cagey first 15 minutes or so with both teams feeling their way into the match - MK Dons were spraying the ball about with a confidence and competence belying their league position. Suddenly though the match burst into life. After neat interplay down the Derby right, Ben Reeves floated the ball towards the back post where Carl Baker beat Warnock to the ball. The ball dropped to Simon Church (who should have been called offside but wasn't), and he blasted it towards goal. Somehow, Scott Carson made a point-blank save and the ball was scrambled away for a corner.

Jason Shackell moves the ball on (@dcfcofficial)

This should have been the first warning shot about how this match was going to go. Everything that happened in that single move would be repeated time after time, again and again over the course of the match; whether it be the sharp, crisp MK Dons passing or the last ditch defending. As a riposte of sorts, Ince slipped the ball through to Martin who shot at the legs of former Derby loanee David Martin in the Milton Keynes net. Ince then skyed the ball over the bar when it would have been easier to hit the target, but that was as good as it got for Derby in a first half where they were given the run around by the championship newcomers.

You would have thought that given the way Derby were outfought and out thought in the first half, Clement would make changes at half time, but he didn't. Instead Derby came out with a renewed sense of purpose and after Warnock moved over the half way line for the first time in his Derby career, Derby were in front. Slipped in on the overlap by Jacob Butterfield, Warnock cut the ball back to the edge of the penalty area where Bradley Johnson slipped it past Martin and into the net for his first Derby goal. I wonder if I'm doing Warnock a disservice when I say that I think the ball came off by luck rather than design; it appeared that he was squaring the ball for Johnny Russell and had actually hit it behind him. Anyway, finally the break through.

Bradley Johnson (centre) celebrates his goal (@dcfcofficial)

With Derby in lead, surely no the shackles could come off and we would sweep past a demoralised Milton Keynes. Nope. Instead MK Dons roared back into life, pinning Derby into the penalty area and attacked with renewed vigour. Jake Forster-Caskey on-loan from top of the league Brighton found acres of space in between the back four and the midfield, shifted the ball onto Church who passed it to Josh Murphy. Murphy then took an age to control the ball in the box and with no hint of a Derby player closing him down fired the ball low past Carson into the net. Absolutely abysmal defending from all involved, it wasn't the first or last case in the match either.

The next let off for Derby came when a poor touch by Warnock forced him to run back towards his own goal. This on it's own is fine, but then he proceeded to fire the ball against Jason Shackell who moved forward to help him out. Ricocheting off Shackell the ball spun into the path of Church who with all the time in the world, with Murphy and Reeves to aim for and with Richard Keogh and Shackell scrambling to get back fluffed his lines. He passed it in between his teammates and the golden opportunity of the match was wasted. The storm was coming.

Johnny Russell runs onto the ball (@dcfcofficial)

Dean Lewington had a header tipped onto the post by Carson after getting the better of Keogh and Murphy was unluckily booked for diving after taking a tumble in the box near Carson. Derby were living very dangerously. Then Clement finally decided to make a change; off went Butterfield and Baird and on came Weimann and Hendrick with Derby switching to a 4-4-2 formation. Weimann made an immediate impact flicking for the onrushing Martin who moved the ball to Ince, with Ince shooting wide when he really should have hit the target. Russell then smacked the ball against the bar from distance.

One could that Derby were growing into the game having miraculously survived a 70 minute long onslaught; how much of that was down to Clement's tactical changes or just Milton Keynes tiring is up for debate. Derby's final and what in the end would be most telling substitution was to bring on Darren Bent for Chris Martin. With Derby monopolising possession a chance would always come our way and when it did it was really well worked. Ince played the ball back to Hendrick an proceeded to run off his man into space in the box where Hendrick threaded a perfectly weighted ball back into him. With one touch Ince opened up his body and played the ball across goal where Bent put the ball in the net, with Johnson queueing up behind should he miss.

With 89 minutes on the clock Derby had their noses in front once more, but there was still one more scare to come; an MK Dons corner was whipped right onto Carson, who under unfair attention from Dean Bowditch punched the ball towards his own net. Fortunately Weimann was there to poke the ball away with plenty of time to spare, not that it stopped the home supporters asking for a goal. Then in the final minute (the 96th to be precise), Ince nicked the ball after a sloppy touch from Diego Poyet, advanced on goal and confidently fired the ball into the net. 3-1 the final scoreline, but not a 3-1 performance that's for sure.

Derby players celebrate Darren Bent's goal (@dcfcofficial)

Great credit should go to MK Dons; they pressed us high up the pitch and moved forward with a tempo I haven't seen from a team since the first season of Steve McClaren's reign. Their obvious problem was finishing; to have 26 shots on goal with only 4 on target shows a huge amount of profligacy. They have everything about them to be a good team in this league; confident on the ball, pacey wingers and an astute manager in Karl Robinson. Everything except goals. I would hazard a guess and say that should Robinson receive an injection of cash Church would be one of the first players to be replaced. Although his movement and work rate are good, his decision making and finishing are poor; there is a reason he was released by a Charlton side that barely escaped relegation last year. There also seems to be a soft underbelly there; Forster-Caskey and Poyet are very lightweight combination in defensive midfield with the potetnial to be bullied and don't seem to offer much protection when they actully have to defend.

As for Derby, I think it's fair to say the term 'smash and grab' comes to mind. No Derby fan would be happy with that performance and indeed no Derby fan should be happy with that performance; a team with aspirations of getting promoted to the Premier League should be able to do the basics right such as find a Derby player 4 times out 5. This didn't happen today.

Player Performances

• Scott Carson - Very much a mixed bag today. On one hand he made some vital saves that kept us in the match and on the other his handling of crosses left a lot to be desired, especially towards the end of the match.
• Cyrus Christie - A decent performance, did well to contain the lively Murphy and didn't put a foot wrong really. Didn't get the chance to support the attack as much as he has done recently, but I think it' fair to say he's finally reached the form we saw from him at the start of last season.
• Richard Keogh - I might get a bit of flack for this but I think he was one of our poorest players today. Time and time again he was out muscled by his man on set pieces and some of his ball watching was criminal. Should have been much closer to Murphy for their goal, but wasn't so he was able to get away with a poor touch.
• Jason Shackell - As usual very vocal and dominated his men on set pieces. Struggled to deal with their movement up front, but at the same time was a calming influence towards the end of the match.
• Stephen Warnock - Made a fine assist for Johnson's goal, but that was the only time I can actually remember him going forward. Was out muscled a lot (I say this too often about him)  and showed poor awareness of his surroundings to fire the ball at Shackell from 5 yards away. I just don't see him doing anything that Forsyth can't do better. 
• Chris Baird - Back from injury so I should cut him a  bit of slack but I can't. Didn't move the ball forward as often as he should, but I can forgive that  as he's a defender by trade. What's harder to forgive is the amount of space he kept leaving between himself and the back 4. A better team would have punished us for this. 
• Bradley Johnson - What would appear to be the complete midfield performance. Helped out well when defending, passed the ball well and got a very good goal. Hopefully the first of many. 
• Jacob Butterfield - Seemed to get frustrated very easily and wasn't particularly influential. Thought he was lucky not to be taken off at half time as he was close to being sent off, but returned to play a lovely ball through to Warnock for the first goal.
• Tom Ince - Worked hard and never gave up but at times his first touch was non-existent. However, got absolutely nothing from the referee, and deserved his goal in the end, having had one incorrectly ruled out beforehand.

  

  Tom Ince celebrating his 96th minute goal (@dcfcofficial)

• Johnny Russell - Wasn't the greatest performance from Johnny. We got the usual hard work and he helped out Warnock a lot. going forward however was a different story; he struggled to get going and the only real thing of note he did in the opposition half was hit the bar. 
• Chris Martin - I feel I should be honest. This was in my opinion, Martin's worst performance in a Derby shirt, with a first touch like a baby elephant and being caught offside more times in this match than all of last season. A day to write off as a poor day at the office for him. 
• Andreas Weimann - Made a couple of nice flicks and took up some great positions in the box only to be let down by the ball in. His best contribution though was down the other end when he cleared Carson's mispunch off the line. 
• Jeff Hendrick - Much improved. Moved the ball on well and played a superb pass into Ince for the second goal. He's banging on the door for a starting spot next week.
• Darren Bent - Did what Darren Bent does best; scores goals in the box by being in the right place at the right time. He'll get more this season and I wouldn't be surprised if he starts next week. 

Parting Thoughts

• I suspect Clement may have a few big decisions to make next week with Bent having made a huge difference when he came on for Martin and Hendrick when he came on for Baird. Will he be brave enough to drop his captain to the bench? Having the armband shouldn't prevent a player fro being dropped, but we all know it somehow makes it an awful lot harder to do.
• Unlike in recent games, we were wide open at the back today and better teams would have taken advantage. If he wants to play Baird in defensive midfield Clement needs to change the formation so that Johnson sits next to him when we are defending. Thorne is the only player we have who play that role without any help from the midfield. 
• Fair play to the 3000 plus Derby fans who went to Milton Keynes, not an easy trip for such an early kick off, especially when you can watch it at home or in the pub.