Matchday Thread: Rams v Brum

[Ramshank72]

Pulling back a draw was a fantastic effort, cannot fault the determination of this side. Perversely, I kinda enjoy us more with our backs against the wall.
Saw some drone footage of the march today, incredibly impressive!!!!

[MadAmster]

Poor first half. Better 2nd. They scored 2, missed 2 chances by missing the target and forced Allsop into one good save, we scored 2, put one wide and forced 2 good saves from their keeper.

Ref missed a few pushes in the back and the 3rd of the 3 times Joz stayed down saying OW was, IMO, well worth a free kick and a card but the Bluenose responsible didn't even concede a free kick according to the ref. Joz had to go off. Apart from that, he and his assistants got stuff right.

[macstheman]

We needed a win but hey, what pride from the players, from Wayne, from the fans! Just unbelievable!
Now you morons supposedly responsible for the future of DCFC, match that and get it sorted!!!

[ramAnag]

One of the strangest matches I’ve seen at Pride Park. Let’s face it, we could have been losing 0-4 after an hour such was Brum’s domination and wastefulness, and yet the final stats show us to have had more possession, more shots - both on and off target - and more corners, while Brum conceded over four times as many fouls and actually did win - on yellow cards - by four to nil.

We seemed to spend the first hour or more experimenting with tactics built around playing without fullbacks and seeing how often our midfield could give the ball away or get caught in possession. In short we allowed ourselves to be bullied all over the pitch in what was about the most lacklustre performance of this season.

Then came the changes and transformation. A superb goal from Plange who’s footwork to manoeuvre himself into any sort of shooting position was absolutely top class and matched the quality of the finish itself, and then that final strike.
Magnificent...but should it have stood? No...I’m not sure if it constituted dangerous play although I suspect it would anywhere else on the pitch but, although it wasn’t clear in the moment, Stearman was definitely offside in the build up and Brum can feel hard done by.

Having said that...what also only became clear with later TV reruns, was that we should most certainly have had a penalty when Mengi’s hand was all that prevented Lawrence’s goal bound effort from counting.

So...what goes around comes around. Truth is we were dreadful for the first hour or more and looked a beaten side. Thankfully though this side doesn’t know when it’s beaten and the changes saved us. Let’s just hope Bielik’s injury is less serious than it looks.

Finally a question. How is it that 32,000 in Pride Park can somehow create less of an atmosphere than the usual 22,000? It was packed to the rafters yesterday but with it seems to come a sort of stifling negativity that doesn’t seem to be there in more normal circumstances.

[MadAmster]

I reckon 9 out of every 10 refs would have disallowed Bielik's effort for dangerous play. His foot was VERY close to the defender's head. Hopefully, that was part 1 of 20 of the "these things even themselves out over a season"...

[Geoff Parkstone]

I reckon 9 out of every 10 refs would have disallowed Bielik's effort for dangerous play. His foot was VERY close to the defender's head. Hopefully, that was part 1 of 20 of the "these things even themselves out over a season"...

Rumour has it that Middlesbrough are suing the Rams due to our cheating for Bielik's goal. The EFL are considering whether the almost decapitated Birmingham defender is a football creditor. This will take another 2 months thus delaying any possible takeover to beyond the date when the Plange money is expected to run out.

[MadAmster]

GP, hit nail head.