It seems like an eternity since the Rams were able to avoid a banana skin in the League Cup but obviously they had their eyes peeled (pardon the pun) to skip over any possibility of crashing to Oldham. Despite some nervous moments and a ref who seemed determined to keep the contest close by denying some solid penalty shouts — Nigel Clough’s men will progress to the next round by the narrowest margin possible in football and at the same time put to bed a curse that was becoming a weight around their neck... until next season that is.

Capital One Cup — Round 1

Tuesday August 7^th

Match Report - Oldham 0 v 1 Derby

There were big changes to the Rams line up from Sunday — which if nothing else — shows the Rams squad has much better depth than on display in recent years. Those who lined up were not just token additions, players on the outer (stand up Robinson & Tyson!) — they were squad players determined to push for first team selection.

Adam Smith, Paul Coutts, John Eustace, Ben Davies, Conor Sammon and Michael Jacobs were all substitutes on Sunday but were all handed a start as Clough balanced his chargers schedule of two games in 3 days.

Oldham was the liveliest in opening exchanges with both Cristian Montano and Jonson Clarke-Harris missing shots on goal. The warning signs were already there that another dire day in Rams history could be on the cards if they weren’t careful.

Just as we started to get concerned what may be unfolding the Rams slowly worked their way into the contest increasing possession and movement which resulted in a well taken Coutts corner that Jacobs only just headed over. Sammon was working hard to impress and did just that when he released Jacobs with a great ball down the left that allowed the player to make amends for his miss only moments earlier.

Ball in net and the Rams ahead!

With the Rams One up to the good - Jeff Hendrick was unsuccessful with a powerful long shot but only because Oldham’s keeper was on hand to pull off a great save. Oldham also had some good chances before the break with both Dayton and Montano kept at bay by the Rams new number one Lee Grant.

The second forty five started as it finished with Oldham on the attack. Former Rams trialist and brother of Wayne - Adam Rooney — tried to make the Rams regret passing on him but Lee Grant sent him back to finishing school. At the other end Ben Davies was on hand to head wide as did Jake Buxton from a Jacob’s free kick.

Davies was in the thick of it and had a penalty shout waived away when he was clearly brought down in the box by Oxley. The poor refereeing continued soon after when Sammon was on the end of a slicing pass which he tucked away neatly - only to have the goal disallowed for a very soft foul on defender Montano. Poor old Conor just can’t get a break!

Montano fresh from his near invisible fouling was denied by a fabulous off the line effort by Forsyth. Grant was beaten but Craig was on hand to clear the ball.

Will Hughes entered the arena at this point and was immediately creating chances as he set up Davies whose shot was blocked. Hughes then tried a different team mate but Coutts shot was well saved by the in form Oldham keeper who had kept the score line to the most minimal of losing score lines.

The Rams came under fire for the final minutes during stoppage time as the home team were desperate to equalise but unlike the story on Sunday — this one had a happy ending.

Rams win — bring on the next round!

The Cloughie Comment:

After the win Nigel was pleased to progress in the cup:

“It’s a great win and we’re very pleased. Oldham are good side and Lee Johnson has got them playing some excellent stuff. We watched them in pre-season and on Saturday at Stevenage, and given what we saw from them in those games we knew it wasn’t going to be easy.”

“It was a tough one, especially in the first half, and they caused us some problems early on when we were playing it too much like a practise match for our liking. Towards the end of the half, and in the second half, we were much more at it, got in their faces, showed some aggression and defensively we were excellent. We had four good shouts for penalties as well and we were disappointed that, at least, one of them wasn’t given.””

“We had enough situations to score more than one goal so we need to be a little bit more clinical, but we can’t fault the lads for what they gave us. After the disappointment of conceding late on against Blackburn at the weekend it’s nice to come away, get a clean sheet and keep a nice little unbeaten run going — especially for the players’ confidence.

“It was good to see Michael get a goal and it was pleasing to see Eustace, Sammon and him all involved in the goal, as that highlights the advantage of bringing some fresh legs in the side. It was a very good goal as well in terms of a team move and Michael’s run, like Conor’s cross, was well timed. He’s knocking on the door for a start, like many others, so it was a chance for them to impress and get some minutes under their belts as well.”

“We felt freshening it up 48 hours on from Sunday was the right thing to do, especially as we’ve got a stronger squad with some depth this season and it worked well for us.”

Match Stats:

Crowd:

5,000 (876 Travelling Rams)

Possession:

Derby 52% - Oldham 48%

Shots On Target:

Derby 4 - Oldham 4

Shots Off Target:

Derby 13 — Oldham 12

Fouls:

Derby 13 — Oldham 15

Teams:

Derby County :

Grant (GK); Smith, Keogh, Buxton, Forsyth; Coutts, Hendrick, Eustace, Davies; Sammon (Martin 75), Jacobs (Hughes 72).

Subs not used: Legzdins (GK), Freeman, Russell, Bennett, Bryson.

Oldham Athletic:

Oxley (GK), Brown, Grounds, Tarkowski, Smith, Rooney (Millar 67), Montano, Mellor, Clarke-Harris (Wesolowski 56), Dayton (Schmeltz 66), Baxter.

Subs not used:

Simpson (GK), MacDonald, Byrne, Rodgers.

Photo: Action Images

Derby County Polls