Debuts, confidence and vital minutes: positives despite Leeds defeat

Given the decades of history between the two teams, it is a little ironic that the latest battle between Derby County and Leeds United was defined by two short periods.

When Jacob Widell Zetterström gave away, and then saved a penalty from Joel Piroe, any concerns surrounding the atmosphere in a relatively sparsely populated Pride Park disappeared.

There was only one way to stop the “We all hate Leeds!” chants that had begun after The Rams’ Swedish stopper had dived to his right, and that was a goal up the other end. Step forward, Ben Brereton Díaz, who scored just two-and-a-half minutes after the spot-kick.

After another intentioned sprint down the left from Corey Blackett-Taylor saw him bumped off the ball by Wilfried Gnonto, it broke for the Chilean, who drilled his shot low across goal for his second in as many games.

“I’m delighted he’s got two in two”, Eustace told me discussing his “brilliant” forward: “hopefully now he can keep growing in his confidence and keep scoring.”

Blackett-Taylor too will surely take confidence from his first start since the opening day. The winger’s directness as Derby’s main outlet allowed them to exploit Leeds’s vulnerabilities on the right of their defensive third, with Daniel Farke substituting Sebastian Bornauw at half-time to deal with the wide threat.

And, to the hosts’ credit, it was otherwise a fairly insipid half for the occasion, as Leeds were limited to low-quality shots on Zetterström’s goal. Only Piroe troubled the keeper, who made eight saves through the game, by rattling the post.

“I think we needed 20 minutes to adapt today,” visiting boss Daniel Farke later admitted.

However, Leeds’ Premier League quality shone through in the second half, despite eight changes. While Eustace’s side fizzled out, lacking the required urgency in the closing stages, as a lack of match fitness began to bite.

Admittedly, they lost the battling presence of Travis and debutant Oscar Fraulo, while it was clear that David Ozoh will also need time to return to full sharpness. But by the time he came on, the damage was already done.

Quickfire goals from Wilfried Gnonto and Ao Tanaka flipped the script before the hour mark. Substitute James Justin’s stoppage time goal then ensured that Leeds would be the fifth team to do to Derby what they have failed to do in 11 months under Eustace – come from behind to win.

While a cup run could “only be a good thing” as the head coach wrote in his programme notes, growing confidence and fitness had appeared to be the order of the day. And perhaps that stat is some insight into why.

As good as The Rams’ key players are, the depth is still lacking. Particularly with the injuries they have suffered.

Danny Batth stood out with body-on-the-line defending, as well as twice coming close to scoring with his head. Eustace was effusive with praise for Fraulo too.

He said: “He’s ahead of where we expected him to be.

“I think his energy [stood out], he found a pass, won a couple of tackles in there as well. There’s obviously a lot more to come.”

Impact from the bench is ever more important in the era of five substitutes and at Pride Park, it has often been underwhelming this season: only two of Derby’s 35 Championship goals have been scored by substitutes.

Boosting the options on the bench could make an enormous difference, particularly with a period of three games in a week starting on Saturday.

The biggest plus point though, was the debut of academy product Owen Eames, whose pace, work rate and dribbling all stood out in his 21-minute cameo. Adept as a central or more attacking midfielder, it was not difficult to see why Eustace felt he “deserved an opportunity”.

He explained: “[Our academy is] obviously a strong academy, it’s important that we start bringing players through again.”

While The Rams cannot yet go toe-to-toe with Premier League opposition over 90 minutes, maybe prospects like Eames can help Derby get there.