What I.Saw: Stone Cold Dogs, Pipped Cherries & Attacking Rams
Sunday, 24th Nov 2013 13:12 by I.Saw

Morning dawning, ice has been forming. Car, scrape, crank and go. Tear down the dotted line, Pacman munching motorway miles.

On the side autumnal hues of rich reds, ochre orange and browns compete with green. No breeze, leaves hanging on for their dear lives, or perhaps the superglue pixies have been working overtime.

Arrive. In the wrong place, it’s a cul-de-sac. Sat Nav says “You have reached your destination”. I say something else. I try again with AFC in front of Bournemouth and via Boscastle we arrive at the additional car parking at Harewood College. Except nobody’s there, re-check the official website “available from 1pm Saturday match days”. Eventually find caretaker who tells us we can park for free and promises not to lock the gate.

A stroll across the park finds the Goldsands Stadium, it’s neat and tidy. A quick security search and in. Search for hot food the choice is simple; it’s Hot Dog or nowt. Choose the Hot Dog done in the local style of “Stone Cold Dog”; take it back and it Pidgin English. I manage to get the money back after the mention of the magical word “supervisor”.

Starving I try again at the other counter, explain the problem and a fresh one comes out of the back, a result if you count lukewarm a success. Whilst the pictures of Pies in the concourse add insult to the promise of botulism, the home fans have queues for burgers in their end, not quite sure if I’d call that favouritism or what.

Derby warm up, it’s the first outing of the “Thunderbird” kit and on row B it’s like standing on a parks pitch eye to eye with the players. Team news, Cisse is out and John Eustace returns, it’s an attacking bench too with one each of keeper, defender, midfielder, coupled with four attackers.

With the sun setting over the stand in front of us it’s a good positive feeling as the game gets underway.

Right from the off, former keeper Lee Camp was roundly booed and whilst Camp who came out this week with the “I have never once knocked the club” should really have had a tag line of “but I know a man who has”, the homophobic abuse that followed was out of order in my book.

Both the Cherries and the Rams play passing football, the home side relying more on the break with Eunan O’Kane picking up the ball in the centre circle and racing forward before being stopped on the edge of the box by Richard Keogh.

Derby though dominates, Simon Dawkins, always an option, gets better with each match, he excites the crowd and promises so much.

Chris Martin, Jamie Ward and Craig Bryson combine well but the final ball is elusive. At the back Buxton is beaten for pace by Tokelo Rantie but Jake doesn’t give in and does enough for the striker to blast this shot at Lee Grant from a tight angle.

We get a good look at Wisdom, this close you appreciate his qualities much more, whether he appreciated the “He’s Andre Wisdom, He Parks Where He Wants” chant was debatable, there was an acknowledgement of kinds though.

Grant flapped twice but got away with it when Wisdom on the post hacks the ball clear out of the stadium. It was the first of three occasions that the Rams booted it over the roof during the match.

Half time and a chat with fellow fans, it seems everybody is making a weekend of it apart from me.

As the game wears on Bournemouth became more direct. Long throws into a crowded area, corners and free kicks, everybody condensed like a rush hour tube, yet the Cherries still get back and defend in numbers.

Eventually the deadlock is broken. Craig Forsyth who has been rock solid in defence finds quality in his low cross and Ward slides the ball off Camp and into the net. We celebrate, cheer and in time honoured fashion proceed to watch the clock ticking down the remaining half an hour.

Eddie Howe’s substitutions press more buttons and winger No. 30 Matt Ritchie especially catches the eye as the home side fight for the equaliser.

No fighting between the players but referee Steven Martin has a relaxed outlook and lets quite a lot go including a strong shout for a Bournemouth penalty when a Derby defender slides in taking the ball, man and everything. We were too low and too far away to have a good opinion so perhaps those managers’ comments are reasonable after all.

Mason Bennett on as a replacement for Dawkins has two good chances to increase the lead, the first a strong drive that Camp blocks and the latter, an easier opportunity after Johnny Russell picks out the unmarked Bennett eight yards out with a perfect chip, only for our youngster to head tamely at Camp in goal.

With the Rams slowing down play at every opportunity and with the signalled five minutes of injury time nearly up, a challenge on the edge of the Derby box results in the Cherries Steve Cook being stretchered off.

Cook left to applause from both sets of fans, a somewhat sour end to a good days football. A 1-0 victory on the road and attacking play it floats my boat anyway.

Now only 214 miles to go before it’s time for a Jagger.

Match Reaction:

We Said: Rams Head Coach - Steve McClaren:

"It is hard to say if we are play-off material. I said before the match we just go week to week and enjoy what we are doing. We could have had more goals but in the end our defenders and goalkeeper were great in helping us hold on when they threw the kitchen sink at us. It was an unbelievable team goal and it was just reward from what was a gritty performance and one that keeps our momentum going".

They Said: Cherries Manager - Eddie Howe:

"I thought that we came up against a really good opponent and that Derby were probably the best team we have played this season. In saying that, we didn’t work their goalkeeper enough and that’s a fact. But we did have some chances to get a point, which we didn’t take. They made it difficult for us to control the game, which is what you want to do as the home side, and we couldn’t dominate possession and had to play on the counter attack.”

Match Stats: Bournemouth - Derby:

Possession: 46% - 54%

Corners: 8 - 6

Shots (on target): 11 (2) — 15 (8)

Offsides: 2 - 3

Fouls: 9 — 9

Yellow Cards: 2 - 2

Match Info:

Attendance: 10,720 (1,391 visiting supporters).

Derby County: Grant (GK); Wisdom, Buxton, Keogh, Forsyth, Eustace, Hughes, Bryson, Ward (Russell 79’), Martin (Sammon 88’), Dawkins (Bennett 74’). Subs not used: Morch (GK), Smith, Davies, Ball.

Bournemouth: Camp (GK), Francis, Cook, Elphick, Daniels, Grabban, O'Kane, MacDonald, Pugh (Fraser 63’), Rantie (Ritchie 64’), Pitman (Thomas 74’). Subs not used: Flahavan (GK), Addison, Harte, Surman.