Phil Tooley takes a look at the game and its context
Derby County 2 Chesterfield 1
Carabao Cup R1
A case of double Déjà Vu. Town never get past the first round of the Carling, Capital One, Carabao Cup (that’s 12 consecutive first hurdle eliminations to equal the record held by Plymouth Argyle and Exeter City), whilst it also had many similarities to our last knockout game on Championship grass. Watford, one-up, plenty of fight, great support, lose 2-1.
Over the 90, there’s no doubting the Rams were the better side, 18 shots to six and seven corners to one, but Paul Cook’s side enjoyed plenty of possession (54%) and showed a host of neat touches and promise. Joe Quigley did extremely well to set up the effervescent Armando Dobra to enable the visitors to take the lead whilst Chey Dunkley again confirmed what a great signing he is.
Bailey Hobson, in truth a surprise starter, put in a great shift and was a whisker away with a couple of shots. He told me afterwards (hear him plus Cook, Dunkley and Tanton on the After the Whistle Podcast) that it was the most enjoyable match he had ever played in.
County’s equaliser was another box-edge cracker, whilst their winner came at an awkward moment, seconds after Tom Naylor was forced off and Jamie Grimes came on, just as a corner was being taken. Ryan Boot made a fantastic stop, but sub Kayden Jackson, one of a quadruple change by Paul Warne on the hour-mark, followed up to score his first Derby goal. His pedigree can’t be underestimated, he was a part of the Ipswich Town team that won promotion to the Premier League last season.
It was great to see Grimes in action after his pre-season injury, and the hope is that Naylor’s issue may not be too serious, but a training injury to Liam Mandeville looks set to keep him out for a while along with Ash Palmer and Ryheem Sheckleford. Hopefully Paddy Madden will be back before we know it. In addition, I’m sure there will be more incomings ahead of the end of August transfer window closing.
Whilst maintaining the familiar 4-2-3-1, the gaffer was looking to achieve a little bit more width. James Berry in particular played on the chalk down the left and the Spireites’ goal came from Dobra who ran in from wide on the right, so it will be interesting to see if this becomes a regular tactic in League Two. Incidentally, ‘Dobs’ became the first Town player to score against Derby in a major cup competition (ie, not County Cup) since 1907, Bill Banner’s long standing record in a 1-1 FA Cup match has now been negated! Or was the last goal against the Rams scored by Emerson Marples? The replay was abandoned in extra time with County 2-1 up, so Marples’ goal has, sadly, been expunged from the records! The tie was eventually lost 4-0 in a game played, believe it or not, at Trent Bridge!
Not too many tears then, so we can all turn our attention to the real prize, and our second EFL2 match at Gresty Road, home of Crewe Alexandra. Lee Bell’s men lost their opener at Barrow, going down 1-0, and a much-changed side took the lead at Rotherham United in the Cup on Tuesday, before losing 2-1. Crewe made the play-offs last season and during the summer have brought in capable and experienced strikers in the form of Omar Bogle and Kane Hemmings, both in their 30s, though losing Elliott Nevitt to Gillingham will leave a big hole in the attacking department. Four younger players, including ex-Spireite Ian’s son Kian Breckin have arrived on loan.
The game at The New York Stadium saw the Millers have 27 shots to Crewe’s seven and they were out-shot 10-4 at Barrow, despite enjoying 60% possession. If they’re anything like a traditional Crewe side, they will seek to play possession based football, attack as much as possible, just the sort of team Paul Cook loves to play.
Phil’s Positive: Fantastic following, over 2,900 fans backing the team in perfect fashion, they could see the players gave their all.
Next Match: Crewe Alexandra (A), Saturday, August 17, EFL2, KO 3pm. Full commentary for subscribers on 1866+ (find details on Chesterfield FC website). All of the build-up, half-time and post-match remains free on the 1866 Sport App.
Chesterfield (4-2-3-1 to start): Boot; Tanton (Daley-Campbell 46), Naylor (Grimes 67), Dunkley, Gordon; Banks (Akinola 73), Oldaker; Dobra, Hobson, Berry (Drummond 65); Quigley (Jacobs 73). Subs (not used): Williams, Jones, Colclough, Grigg.
Goals: Dobra 29 (Chesterfield), Thompson 38, Jackson 68 (Derby)
Referee: Leigh Doughty
Bookings: Daley-Campbell (Chesterfield)
Attendance: 8,538 (2,901 from Chesterfield)
Banner Jones 1866 Sport Man of the Match: Armando Dobra (chosen by me)
