MX23RW : Sunday, January 19 09:43:13| >> :600:115702:115702:

Mid-season report: Derby County

Mid-season report: Derby
© PA Photos
Sports Mole looks back at the highs and lows of Derby County during the first half of the season.

Derby County would have been content with their 12th-place finish in the Championship last season, if they could press on and improve during the current campaign.

Under Nigel Clough, they have achieved stability as a Championship club but with a ground holding in excess of 30,000 people, there would be ambitions to make the playoffs at the end of the season.

The summer of 2012 saw them acquire players that had been made available by clubs who had been relegated from the Championship with Coventry and Doncaster Rovers, with Richard Keogh and James O'Connor joining the payroll at Pride Park.

Here, Sports Mole looks back at the effort of the Rams to break into the top six of the Championship table.

August

Derby began the season with a 2-2 draw at home to Sheffield Wednesday before Bolton Wanderers scored two late goals to beat the Rams 2-0.

A late fightback at Molineux saw Theo Robinson net a late equaliser to earn County a 1-1 draw.

September

Seventeen-year-old Will Hughes netted his first goal for Derby as they earned their first win of the season in superb style with a 5-1 triumph over Watford.

In what became a trend for the month of September, County went on to lose their next game at Huddersfield Town before hitting back to defeat Charlton Athletic.

A late Charlie Austin goal saw Derby lose 2-1 at home to Burnley before they responded with a 1-0 win at East Midlands rivals Nottingham Forest.

October

Paul Coutts scored three minutes from time as Derby drew 2-2 at Middlesbrough and three days later, it was the same outcome as they fought out a stalemate with Brighton & Hove Albion.

Robinson scored a late equaliser to secure another draw, this time against Blackburn Rovers, before the Rams sealed their first victory in four games by beating Ipswich Town.

However, they were brought back down to earth when Peterborough produced a dominant performance to defeat Derby 3-0.

November

Derby began November by blitzing Blackpool 4-1 before O'Connor and Nathan Tyson netted to earn County a 2-0 win over Barnsley.

The Rams were beginning to establish themselves as a realistic contender for a place in the playoffs but they suffered a double blow in losing to Millwall and Crystal Palace.

However, they hit back to record a thrilling 3-2 victory over Birmingham City before they ended the month with a respectable point against Cardiff City.

December

East Midland neighbours condemned Leicester City condemned Derby to a 4-1 defeat at the start of December before County responded with a 3-1 win over Leeds.

A 2-0 win over struggling Bristol City saw Derby into the top 10 but Hull City inflicted just the second home defeat of the season on the Rams with a 2-1 triumph.

Derby suffered a second successive defeat when they lost 2-0 at Burnley on Boxing Day.

ID:61272: cacheID:61272:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:6525:
Written by
Darren Plant
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Pride Park
Read Next:
Derby beat spirited Barnsley
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
FT
Washington
45-31
Lions
8pm
Rams
@
Eagles
11.30pm
Ravens
@
Bills
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd27176438172155
2Leeds UnitedLeeds26158348192953
3Burnley27141123192253
4Sunderland27149439221751
5Blackburn RoversBlackburn2712693124742
6West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom27914433221141
7Middlesbrough27118844341041
8Watford27125103837141
9Bristol City2791083331237
10Sheffield WednesdaySheff Weds2610793840-237
11Norwich CityNorwich279994339436
12Queens Park RangersQPR2781183034-435
13Swansea CitySwansea2797113033-334
14Coventry CityCoventry2788113537-232
15Oxford UnitedOxford Utd2788113041-1132
16Preston North EndPreston2761382834-631
17Millwall2679102424030
18Stoke CityStoke27610112533-828
19Derby CountyDerby2776143137-627
20Cardiff CityCardiff2769122941-1227
21Hull City2768132636-1026
22Portsmouth2668123245-1326
23Luton TownLuton2775152744-1726
24Plymouth ArgylePlymouth2749142555-3021


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!