Derby packed up their form and took it to Portman Road where a couple from Commons put Keane on the canvas.

 Ipswich Town 0 Derby County 2

Tuesday 9th November 2010

 7:30pm - Portman Road

 

Attendance: 17,572 (491 Travelling Rams)

 

Ipswich:

Fulop, McAuley (Peters 68), Delaney, Leadbitter, Edwards (Townsend 68), Wickham, Livermore (Scotland 60), Priskin, Smith, Eastman, Colback 

Unused Subs - Murphy, Murray, Kennedy, O'Dea

Yellow Cards: Colback, Peters, Ledbitter

Derby:

Fielding, Brayford, Barker, Moxey, Pringle (O'Brien 89), Savage, Bailey, Cywka, Green, Commons (Pearson 77), Kuqi (Addison 73)

Unused Subs - Deeney, Doyle, Martin, Roberts

Goals: Commons (58, 76)

Yellow Cards: Moxey, Commons, Bailey

Down Under RamsFan Report:

The morning sun had just poked its head around my bedroom curtains when I was awoken by my 10 month old daughter stirring from her sleep. The alarm clock beside me displayed 5.45am and this combination of factors was all the impetus I needed to leap from my bed and offer to look after her and let the rest of the household sleep.

I wish I could say my motives were purely selfless but with the Rams on a roll and the Ipswich clash just getting underway, I tucked baby under one arm, my PC under the other and parked us both in the lounge room.

Flipping through TV channels she chose 'Dora the Explorer', while I chose BBC Radio Derby. It is hard to say who was wearing the biggest smile over the next couple of hours but both of us were at least equally content.

The Rams line up fielded only one change from their victory over Pompey with the suspended Dean Leacock replaced by Ben Pringle. Brayford shifted into the heart of the back four while Paul Green slipped into right back with Pringle filling his spot.

Derby came out of the blocks in the same fashion we have come to expect in recent weeks with the ever energetic Cywka smashing a powerful effort from over 20 yards out. The Polish attacker’s shot was on target but Ipswich keeper Marton Fulop, somehow managed to get enough on it to deflect it over the bar.

The early energy on show was slowly reeled in by an Ipswich team that were becoming more determined to negate the Rams game plan and also put a mark of their own on the match.

As the impact increased, so did the Ipswich shot count with Tamas Priskin bobbing up with a 30 yard curler that brought the best out of  the Rams on-loan keeper as Frank Fielding.

Wickham also found himself in on goal for Town but could only manage to send his shot wide as he fired from the edge of the area.

Priskin once again was in the action just after the 20 minute mark when he found himself connecting with the ball from close – range but could not get any power on his header which ended up in the arms of Fielding.

Clough and Metgod could see that their team were being dominated and decided an adjustment to the formation was in order to try and curb the influence Ipswich were displaying. Savage played as a lone stopper in front of the back four with Commons on the left and Bailey moving into a more central midfield position.

The changes came close to bearing fruit instantly as Shefki Kuqi found himself one on one with the keeper but frustratingly scuffed his effort at the crucial moment and allowed Fulop to bat it away.

The ever-improving James Bailey decided he would try and add another quality goal to his highlights reel when Cywka crossed in teasingly and he made connection sweetly. It was a fabulous strike that was matched by a fabulous save with Fulop on hand to turn the thumping strike around the post.

It seemed the Rams were now dominating as Commons was beginning to cause Town some real headaches. His 30 yard thunderbolt found itself too close to the keeper but was just an appetiser of things to come from the Scottish International.

Kuqi, a former Ipswich Striker, had been welcomed back to his former stomping ground by the home fans at the opening of the match but he nearly erased the good-will with a header from only six yards out but Fulop comfortably collected.

HT: 0 – 0

Half time allowed time for me to give baby her bottle, brew a coffee and deal with a nasty nappy that I nicknamed ‘Forest’.

As we returned from our break Mickey Mouse was now on offer for my baby girl and she seemed suitably impressed. I only hoped that the Rams would not be made look Mickey Mouse in the second half and instead I would be as content as she was with Goofy and co. (and no I don’t mean Billy D…. on second thoughts…).

I needed not have worried as Derby started the second as they finished the first, with confidence growing and regular forays forward that only lacked a final ball to unlock the increasingly shaky Ipswich defence.

As the hour mark approached I began to wonder if Green having to fill in at right back, instead of controlling the midfield as he had in previous weeks, was beginning to prove decisive. But I need not have worried.

Just before the hour mark the lively Commons was brought down by Tom Eastman in cynical fashion. The free – kick that resulted gave Commons the chance to inflict a powerfully-drilled shot that kept low and with a slight deflection, it nestled in the back of the net. Ipswich 0 – Derby 1.

It seemed once again the Rams had taken a stranglehold with their energy and constant insistence on trying to play football. That said, Ipswich came close to an equaliser immediately after the re-start when Grant Leadbitter got hold the ball and shot from inside the area only for Fielding to parry the shot magnificently.

Derby target from earlier in the season Jason Scotland entered proceedings and nearly scored immediately but for some more brilliant work from Fielding. The Rams U-21 international was proving to be decisive in the Rams attempts to land their third consecutive bag of 3 points.

Ipswich were beginning to look like they may climb back into contention but instead it was Derby who put the game to rest when the tireless Dean Moxey flew up the wing and into the area. His perfect cut back into the path of Kris Commons was sublime football and the tap in from eight yard was just reward for the team’s hard work. Ipswich 0 – Derby 2.

The second goal signalled a flurry of substitute activity with Commons put in cotton wool and replaced by Stephen Pearson who continues to step up his return from injury.

Miles Addison was given one final run before his foot operation this week, replacing Kuqi who was visibly tiring as the match wore on.

And Rams' youngster Mark O’Brien was also handed a hit out with 5 minutes remaining, as he came on for the more than serviceable and developing Ben Pringle.

Town were attempting to get something from the game as their opposition played musical chairs and streamed forward at every opportunity.

Fielding had one more quality save in him for the match when he denied Scotland from only metres out. While Tommy Smith (the other one) also tried his luck with a header but the gloves of Fielding held firm again as did Derby till the final whistle.

That was after the ref had accidently blown twice before he wanted to blow twice and a stop was re-started providing a short encore to what had been a great night out for DCFC.

FT: 0 - 2

With the game at an end - I look at a smiling baby who looked at her smiling Dad. The rest of the family begin to rise at a much more sensible hour for the day ahead and perhaps were wondering what all the smiling was about.

Being a Rams fan on the other side of the world has many disadvantages but the one thing we get that is unique - is a morning like this. If only every day started the same way – a smile on my face that even the worst day at work can’t hope to erase.

DanJ’s Man (Men) Of The Match:

Commons / Barker / Fielding:

I can’t separate the efforts of these three players so I won’t try. The team are playing as such a tight unit it seems unfair to single any one player out, let alone three.

Commons - was everything you could hope a player of his class will be - massive work rate and goals to boot. We must sign and secure him immediately as Premier League clubs will be sniffing around soon. His stellar performances will be noticed.

Barker - was a colossus and becoming every inch of the player he was last season and perhaps even better with the support he now has around him now.

Fielding - not only saved some marvellous efforts with quality keeping he may have also saved the game which could have ended much differently had he not slammed the door shut on Town. Not just great saves but saves at crucial times that probably was the difference between one and three points.

Managers Reaction:

Nigel Clough speaking to the DET after the match:

"It was incredible, a staggering result, we have had some great results in the first 16 League games but this is as good as any we have had, considering what we had out there on the pitch”.

"We had a full-back, in John Brayford, playing centre-back, a midfielder, Paul Green, at right-back and young Ben Pringle making his second League start of the season in midfield”.

"Shaun Barker was playing on one leg, defender Miles Addison came on up front for 20 minutes after 10 months out. Stephen Pearson came on and he is not fully fit”.

"We were also up against a good side and it is a difficult place to go to. Taking all that into consideration, it was an absolutely incredible result".

"You'll get skirmishes when the ball keeps coming into the box but it was great to see players in white shirts throwing themselves at the ball. I think John Brayford and Shaun Barker led by example. They set everybody else off”.

"And when Ipswich got through, Frank Fielding made two great saves. Dean Leacock missed out through suspension and Brayford moved from right-back to centre-back to partner Barker”.

"The heart of the defence was terrific, we were very close to playing Dean Moxey at centre-half and bringing in Gareth Roberts at left-back. I thought Paul Green was brilliant at right-back”.

"The game was fairly even in the first half. We had a couple of chances and they had some long-range efforts but in the 20 minutes after half time, we played very well indeed."

Goalscorer’s Reaction:

Kris Commons spoke to the DET about his brace and contract talks:

"We got the rub of the green for the first goal and the second one was an instinctive finish, which killed the game, really."

"The game was on a knife-edge going into the second half. We'd had a few half-chances but although they looked on top at one stage, we mainly limited them to long-range shots”.

"We knew we weren't fully at the races in the first half but we certainly played a lot better in the second half and we are bit more clinical. Things are going well for us at the moment and long may it continue."

"My agent and Tom Glick, along with people behind the scenes at Derby, are working hard to try to sort something out, I believe a meeting is due to take place towards the end of next week and I'll know more once that has happened”.

"I don't get involved. That's why I pay my agent so much money to do all the running about and negotiations. The ball is rolling and that's good from my point of view”.

"It's not long until January and I want to get something sorted out sooner rather than later."

Photo: Action Images

whestonram added 12:53 - Nov 12 I don't mean to be churlish, but you weren't actually at the match, were you? Even if you have a great ability to visualise the match fro mthe radio commentary, we're reliant on what is and isn't said, and your imagination filling in the rest.
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