Derby 1-2 Ipswich: Travis sees red as Tractor Boys edge out Rams

When Lewis Travis unceremoniously headed the ball into his own net after eight minutes, you got the feeling it would be one of those days for Derby.

When The Rams skipper was given his marching orders in a fiery period of second half stoppage time, that feeling proved correct.

After the euphoric high of the 5-0 win at Bristol City, this unfortunate afternoon brought the Pride Park faithful back down to Earth. The play-off chase is on, but home form remains the barrier.

Eustace was “very proud” of his side’s performance against “probably the best side in the division”, as he has dubbed Ipswich multiple times this week. Presumably even more so given that The Rams' squad was ravaged with illness and injuries.

On top of expected absentees Jacob Widell Zetterström, Sondre Langås, Carlton Morris and Max Johnston, Dion Sanderson (slight calf strain) and Callum Elder (knee issue) missed out too.

Back in the side after breaking his thumb, Josh Vickers was left with no chance to stop Travis’ own goal. His view was impeded by a tussle between Batth and visiting captain Dara O’Shea on the goal line as Travis got his clearance all wrong, heading an accidentally superb finish into the bottom-right corner.

And from there, Town fans’ taunting of their former midfielder begun, only to be exacerbated by his booking for a foul on Darnell Furlong five minutes later.

“He’s a much better player than me,” Eustace said, as I pressed him on comparisons between himself and his number 27 after admitting he too once liked a booking. Luckily for me, there was no relentless counter press akin to that of the Kieran McKenna’s travelling Tractor Boys.

At 1-0 up, the away end’s confidence was about as subtle as McKenna citing “dressing room culture” for sanctioning Sam Szmodics’ East Midlands loan move. If one thing was clear from his pre-match press conference it was that there is no love lost there.

But some excellent defending from Matt Clarke and Danny Batth, whose nose was bleeding inside the first minute, ensured the Olés came to nothing more.

Then came a sustained spell of Derby pressure; a succession of corners and throw-ins born out of Vickers’ long ball up to Ben Brereton Díaz. Multiple balls across goal left begging to be met over the next ten minutes were a microcosm of Derby’s afternoon.

Derry Murkin, Joe Ward, Patrick Agyemang. Then Ward and Murkin again. But the only shot that came from that ten-minute spell was a tame David Ozoh header.

Then Rhian Brewster volleyed a cross-shot well wide in the second phase following Ward’s free kick.

On a memorable day for debutant Murkin, who had a solid, if unspectacular afternoon, and 21^st-birthday boy Bobby Clark, came a moment they will want to forget. The former hit the first man from a free kick after a series of dummies prompting jeers from the away end.

A bright opening to the second half saw The Rams fashion a chance from one of Rhian Brewster’s new surprisingly long throws. But Joe Ward’s long shot was blocked.

Vickers made a great stop in the 51^st-minute, denying Wes Burns with a strong right hand after the Welshman got on the end of a defence-splitting cross-field pass. The catch to stop Iván Azón’s header three minutes later was much simpler.

A 67^th-minute left-sided overload was too much for Ipswich, with Azor Matusiwa bringing down Bobby Clark in the box. The penalty was Derby’s only shot on target, and a goal, Brewster calmly shooting down the middle from twelve yards.

The strike extends Derby’s run of consecutive games scored-in to 21, their longest run in nearly half a century – something Eustace says, “is a nice record to have”.

But the visitors would secure what Kieran McKenna describes as “maybe my favourite win of the season” with 13 minutes to play. After being tackled by Batth and Clarke, Anis Mehmeti won the ball back with “brilliant counter pressure” before finding Kasey McAteer on the right.

The Irishman’s cross was hung up well for attacking left back Leif Davis to “come round the back post with a big header” past Vickers.

McKenna calls it “good game management”, but I imagine Derby might call Ipswich’s stoppage time antics something else. Perhaps the contrasting number of additional minutes compared to the reverse fixture played a part in their dismay.

Eustace who was “disappointed” with Travis’ second yellow card, but “had not yet watched it back” was not drawn on that. But he was clear that if his captain “has deliberately fell on” Furlong, “he will get punished”.

Despite it ending in defeat, The Rams going “toe-to-toe” with Ipswich was another sign of the progress being made according to their head coach.

Although they have dropped to ninth, Derby are still just two points off the play-offs. Some things went their way elsewhere at least.

Goals: Brewster 68’ (Pen) | Travis 8’ (OG), Davis 77’

Derby (4-2-3-1): Vickers (GK); Ward, Batth, Clarke, Murkin; Travis (C), Ozoh (Fraulo 63'); Brereton Díaz (Banel 63’), Clark (Eames 90’), Brewster (Salvesen 82’); Agyemang.

Unused Substitutes: O’Donnell; Forsyth, Canoville; Thompson, Allen.

Ipswich Town (4-2-3-1): Walton (GK); Furlong, O’Shea (C), Kipré, Davis; Matusiwa, Taylor (Neil 75’); Burns (McAteer 64’), Mehmeti, Clarke (Akpom 76’); Azón (Hirst 76’).

Unused Substitutes: Palmer (GK), Johnson, Greaves; Cajuste, Walle Egeli.