From looking fearful of a battering, to coming out battling. More intense pressing, strong tackles and resolute defending were features of a solid Derby display in Lancashire.
Throughout the first half, those in black and white went toe-to-toe with the Clarets, and though quality was lacking in the final third for both sides, the Rams did not resemble a “a League One team and a bit of sugar on top,” as Paul Warne described them following defeat at Elland Road three days prior.
As well as switching formation to a 3-5-2, Paul Warne made five changes to the side that lost at Leeds. Callum Elder and Ebou Adams returned from suspension, while Kenzo Goudmijn, Joe Ward and Dajaune Brown, were also selected to start.
Brown, who displayed impressive work rate up front alongside Jerry Yates, moved the ball out to Ward whose low cross was put behind for a corner as Derby dominated the opening stages.
The corner was delivered to the back post and played back to Kenzo Goudmijn on the edge of the box for the first chance of the game, but the Dutchman couldn’t keep his effort down.
Jacob Widell Zetterström was first called into action in the 11th minute, Burnley skipper Josh Brownhill aiming for the top corner to finish a counter, but Derby’s number one got both hands to the ball to turn it behind.
Brighton loanee Jeremy Sarmiento looked sharp for the hosts, though his shooting was lacking. Roaming in the final third, the Ecuadorian kept Eiran Cashin on his toes at the beginning of a great performance from Derby’s skipper for the night.
Burnley had a strong shout for a penalty rejected in the 34th minute, when a cross which had looked destined for Josh Laurent was blocked by Nat Phillips, whose arm was sticking out.
As half-time approached, sloppy passes crept into the game, with neither side able to keep the ball and take advantage of the gifts coming their way.
The trend continued two minutes into the second half, when Adams unwittingly played in Zian Flemming. Under pressure from Cashin, the firmer Millwall man couldn’t get the ball out of his feet before it was smothered by Zetterström.
The best chances of the game fell to Jerry Yates in the 56th minute. The striker made a great run to get the wrong side of Maxime Estève and meet a delightfully weighted line-breaking pass from Kenzo Goudmijn. The Swansea loanee’s low shot forced the on-rushing James Trafford into his first save of the night, parrying the ball back to Yates who then agonisingly hit the side netting from a tight angle.
Burnley had another opportunity when Sarmiento played a smooth pass into substitute Luca Koleosho, but Zetterström did brilliantly to dash out of his goal and block the shot, which the hosts’ number 30 perhaps could have taken round him.
The Derby defence was under pressure for most of the final fifteen minutes, but they did have a couple of chances from range.
Liam Thompson ran onto the ball in space and took a touch before shooting just over the bar. And Marcus Harness went similarly close in stoppage time, turning a couple of Burnley defenders and unleashing a shot from 25 yards which went narrowly wide of Trafford’s right-hand post.
Analysis: Cashin the colossus
As was proven against Swansea, Derby are better when they press aggressively. Playing with a higher line away to a recently relegated side might sound bold, but this squad has the work rate to do it.
This was not the only tweak made, Derby set up in a 3-5-2, and they look much more comfortable in this shape.
As Gab Sutton and I discussed on his EFL Debate podcast recently, though playing with a front two may appear more defensive than a front three, it actually gives Derby more attacking threat, particularly away from home.
When the Rams line up with a front three, the wingers often end up getting pinned back, thus limiting the space that Derby’s wing backs can push up into, compressing Derby into a 5-4-1. However, in the 3-5-2, the wing backs have the run of the flanks able to get into advanced positions and deliver dangerous balls as Joe Ward did on a couple of occasions.
With the livewire that is Liam Thompson having midfield general Ebou Adams back alongside him in the engine room, the duo must have covered every blade of grass.
But Derby’s player of the match has to be the imperious Eiran Cashin. Given the armband again, he stepped up with a captain’s performance. The number six was the heartbeat of a steadfast team display.
Burnley (4-2-3-1): Trafford (GK); Roberts, Estève, Humphreys, Pires; Cullen, Brownhill (C); Anthony (Hountondji 82’), Laurent (Koleosho 69’), Sarmiento; Flemming (Rodriguez 63’).
Substitutes not used: Hladký (GK), Worrall, Egan, Ekdal, Massengo, McDermott.
Derby (3-5-2): Zetterström (GK); Nelson, Phillips (Bradley 77’), Cashin (C); Ward (Wilson 69’), Goudmijn (Mendez-Laing 76’), Adams, Thompson, Elder; Brown (Harness 58’), Yates (Jackson 69’).
Substitutes not used: Vickers (GK), Forsyth, Bradley, Collins.
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