Derby 0 Burnley 0

When the fixture list came out at the start of the season I thought that Burnley would be the the last match I would see in the flesh before leaving for university. However, Rupert had other ideas and instead I was reduced to watching the match in a pub playing early 2000's R&B songs over the commentary. So here I was, watching my beloved Derby playing Sean Dyche's Burrnley to a soundtrack consisting of Nelly and other assorted rappers. Lovely.

Derby's Starting 11 (@Ed_DawesBeeb)

Paul Clement had decided to stick with the same defence that gained the team what was surprisingly it's first clean sheet of the season against Reading. 2 changes were made though; Jeff Hendrick who was ineffective on Tuesday was replaced by the returning George Thorne, whilst Tom Ince suffered a knock in training and was replaced by Andreas Weimann. Burnley set up with their customary 4-4-2 formation full of hard workers, looking to be able to hit Derby on the break with the pacey Andre Gray up front.

I must confess, I missed the first 10 minutes of the match ordering a drink at the bar, but I can only assume nothing of interest happened as it was still 0-0 when I found a comfortable spot to settle in. It was immediately clear that this would be like every other match at the iPro this season; Derby trying to force their way through a well organised outfit. I'd expect nothing less from a Sean Dyche team.

That's not to say Burnley didn't try to attack, as Gray tirelessly chased down inaccurate balls from his midfielders. It's just that the final ball was missing. It was the same with Derby on the attack, looking for a final ball that never presented itself. indeed, the best chances for both teams would came from set pieces, with Michael Keane having a shot blocked by George Thorne and Tom Heaton swinging for and missing a few corners.

Craig Forsyth marshalls George Boyd (@dcfcofficial)

It was a fairly even first half, but the odds shifted slightly in Derby's favour when Gray tweaked his hamstring and was taken off as a precaution just before half time. He was replaced by Rouwen Hennings, a man who offered nowhere near the pace or movement that Gray did. In response Derby did the obvious thing to do when the opposition has no one to run in behind; they moved up and began pressing higher up the pitch. We only saw a couple of minutes of this before the half time whistle went, but it looked promising as Burnley were penned back.

No changes at half time, but Dyche obviously had the opportunity drill his thoughts into his players as his team came out much more well organised than they were previously. As Derby dominated possession through the controlling Thorne and the tenacious Bradley Johnson and Jacob Butterfield. However for all the possession, I have to say Burnley looked comfortable only being really threatened at set pieces. Keogh should have done better when he came charging in at the near post, flick Johnny Russell's corner high and wide. He nearly did a lot better when he met another Russell corner at the back post, his header back across goal being cleared off the line by Tendayi Darikwa. It's most unlike Derby to be dangerous from corners, but then again, you have to get them past the first man to be in with a chance; something we don't do often enough.

George Thorne competes with Andre Gray for the ball (@dcfcofficial)

As Derby set up shop in the Burnley half of the pitch the inevitable happened; a mistake in the Derby defence led to a Burnley chance. Jason Shackell dived in to intercept the ball, but completely missed it and just like that George Boyd was in the box. Sam Vokes pulled back to the penalty spot and inexplicably Boyd proceeded to absolutely leather the ball at him, giving Vokes no chance of controlling the shot, which went over.

Later on in the macth, Weimann lost his man at a throw in by the edge of Derby's box and the ball was pulled back again to Vokes, who shot tamely into the arms of Scott Carson. Apart from set piece Burnley restricted us to shot's from outside the box, with Butterfield being the main culprit, blasting high and wide time after time. Thorne had a shot from a long way out that drew a save for the cameras from Heaton whilst Chris Martin had a last minute shot tipped away.

Jacob Butterfield tries to get past Scott Arfield (@dcfcofficial)

You know how they say that sometimes a 0-0 draw can be as exciting as a 5-4 match? Well this wasn't like that; it was 2 very competent teams cancelling each other out. Burnley will quite rightly see this a good point gained, whilst Derby will see it as a missed opportunity to gain ground lost on the early season leading pack. Burnley will be up around the playoffs this season; if they keep Gray fit they'll be dangerous and with Dyche organising the, they won't begin to ship goals - at least, not like we did at the end of last season.

Performances

 Scott Carson - wasn't tested at all. Made the saves he would have expected to, claimed crosses well, but some of his kicking let him down. That's 2 games in a row his kicking has been poor.

Cyrus Christie - Seems to be growing by the game. Looked much more solid defensively than in the past, and got forward really well. Whipped in some lovely crosses, causing Heaton no end of trouble.

Cyrus Christie challenges Michael Kightly for the ball (@dcfcofficial)

Richard Keogh - Did well running the with the ball out of defence when there was no passing option. Did well when put up against Vokes for the most part, but lost his man hen Vokes fluffed his lines late on.

Jason Shackell - Can't fault him in terms of organising the defence but looked a bit off the pace at times. Dominated in the air but his mistimed interception could have and on another day would have cost Derby a goal. Also, some of his passing forward to the midfield left a lot to be desired, more often than not being intercepted by Burnley or putting the midfielder in immediate danger. Leave Keogh to be the passing defender I think.

Craig Forsyth - Nothing got past him defensively. I've said it before and I'll say it again, he's one of the best left backs in the league when it comes to actual defending. Didn't really offer much going forward, but that might be because he hasn't played with Weimann on his wing before.

George Thorne - Did what he does best; mopped up play with ease and spread it well. Controlled the match, but it was no surprise to see him go off early having just returned from injury.

Jacob Butterfield - A little bit disappointing. He found space well on several occasions only to cut inside and shoot wide instead of feeding the overlapping full back. Tenacious in trying to in back possession. Worked hard, but needs to work on his decision making.

Bradley Johnson - It's nice to have a physical presence in midfield who might not fall to pieces at a moments notice (no disrespect meant George). Much better in the advanced position he found himself today, he'll be a big player this season.

Andreas Weimann - Was full of running, harassing Darikwa at every opportunity. Got himself into good positions but the ball just didn't quite fall for him, especially when running onto Martin's flick-ons.

Johnny Russell -  Worked incredibly hard, I don't think I've seen anyone run that far since Craig Bryson was at his fittest  couple of seasons ago. Relentless tracking back helped Christie and some of his set pieces were wonderful. On the other hand, some of them were awful and his final ball was lacking. I wouldn't say it was a bad performance though, just a little uninspired.

Johnny Russell places the ball for a corner (@dcfcofficial)

Chris Martin - This was a frustrating evening for Chrissy. Battled well, often on his own against 2 aerially dominant centre backs. With balls being fired up to him at head height, he was always going to lose that battle. When the ball was played on the ground, he looked so much better. Was starved of space in the second half, with his flick-ons and late shot being the only real contributions he made in the last 30 minutes.

Jeff Hendrick - Came on for Butterfield and did exactly the same thing; had pot shots from distance. The only difference being that Hendrick got his on target. Made couple of surging runs with the ball.

Jamie Hanson - Replaced Thorne late on, so not long to impress. Was his usual nippy self while he was on the pitch.

Parting Thoughts

•  On the whole the defence looks good. The key word are 'Final Ball'. The amount of times we just can't find that killer pass is staggering. It will all click in time though.
• Thorne and Johnson will be must-haves in Clement's midfield this season. That leaves Hendrick, Butterfield and Bryson (when he gets fit) to fight it out for the final spot. That will be an interesting battle.
• MK Dons away next - another match on Sky, and an early kick off. I suspect the pubs near my flat will be making a lot of money from me this season.