Come full-time in Derby County’s 1-1 draw at Norwich City, acting boss Matt Hamshaw spoke of how difficult it was to pick up the ‘devastated’ Derby players following yesterday’s surprise news that Paul Warne had been relieved of his duties as head coach.
But as they put in a spirited performance at Carrow Road, what Hamshaw called “four hours of mayhem on the bus” in which he informed his rapidly cobbled-together coaching team of Andy Warrington, Jake Buxton and Bradley Johnson of the gameplan, were paying off.
That plan was to set up in a 5-2-2-1, limiting the playing space afforded to Johannes Hoff Thorup’s possession-heavy, high scoring side in the Derby half. At the back, Sondre Langås was a colossus on his debut, while Lars-Jørgen Salvesen remained a crucial focal point, leading the press from the front. But The Rams did not just lump it long to him, instead putting together some well-worked, higher tempo, on the counter.
The Norwegian striker looked to have given the visitors the lead inside ten minutes, but the goal was wrongly chalked off for offside. Nathaniel Mendez-Laing played a great ball to Ben Osborn as The Rams moved from right to left. The number eight then delivered a superb cross into the six-yard box, which Salvesen smashed into the roof of the net.
Moments later, former Rams loanee Lewis Dobbin beat Jacob Widell Zetterström, but saw the flag go up, rightly this time.
David Ozoh reminded Derby fans of what they have been missing in the 23rd minute, using both skill and strength to make a driving run forward, riding a foul and playing a one-two with Osborn and fizzing in a teasing cross from the left.
As the break crept near, Derby gained some control but couldn’t create another clear-cut chance.
From kick off in the second half, they remained on the front foot, winning an early corner, but Norwich soon came back into the contest.
The Rams just managed to scramble the ball out for a corner after Shane Duffy headed Kenny McLean’s free kick back across goal, before Nat Phillips took a booking to halt a counter attack.
On the hour, Hamshaw brought Jerry Yates on for Salvesen, whose presence both in and out of possession was instantly missed as Norwich entered their best spell of the game.
Josh Sargent forced Zetterström into one of only two saves he had to make in the 65th minute, with a 20-yard effort, before blazing the ball wide after Derby’s number one parried the ball back to him.
But Sargent would atone for his mistake four minutes later, firing across Zetterström and into the top left corner after playing a one-two with Emiliano Marcondes to drag Matt Clarke out of position.
Norwich looked set to see out a relatively quiet game with three points, that is until the 90th minute, when Ipswich loanee Marcus Harness, who had been jeered as he came on, had the last laugh.
While drifting inside from the left-hand side of the box Harness was kicked in the face by the high boot of Jack Stacey, who left the referee with no option but to point to the spot.
Jerry Yates stepped up and sent Scotland International Angus Gunn the wrong way, calmly dispatching into the bottom left corner.
The Canaries pushed for a winner in what remained of stoppage time, but Derby held firm to end their dismal losing run and earn a big point in their fight against relegation.
Analysis: Debutant stands out in resolute team display.
Before his departure, Paul Warne had spoken of the need for “drag and drop,” signings. Matt Clarke is just that, and after recovering from an injury, Nat Phillips picked up where he left off, but there had been some concern that £4m man Sondre Langås would not be Championship ready.
But based on his performance at Carrow Road, that appears to have been misplaced. As hoped, he is not only a solid defender with a good physical presence but offers something Derby have been missing. He showed composure on the ball and his remarkable pace by bringing the ball out of defence with an impressive run down the right in the first half. To use a fitting cliché, he’s a real Rolls-Royce defender, and was my player of the match.
Matt Hamshaw was quick to heap praise on the 24-year-old too.
He said: “[Langås was] outstanding, exactly what we thought we were getting.”
At right wing back, Liam Thompson dealt with the pacey Lewis Dobbin well, especially considering it’s not his natural position. On the other side, Ben Osborn had his best game in a while, with intelligent link-up play and what should have been an excellent assist.
In the middle, the double pivot of Ebou Adams and David Ozoh ran the show. Ozoh made the most tackles (9) and won the most duels (7) of any player on the pitch whilst displaying his ability on the ball. His class and Adams energy in closing players down is a pairing the Derby team should be built around.
Lars-Jørgen Salvesen may have only registered one touch in the opposition box, with his role changing slightly as a result of The Rams tendency not to lump it long as much, his hard work out of possession poachers’ instinct showed why he will be just as important in the post-Warne era as Derby look to beat the drop.
Most importantly, Derby have stopped the rot and shown some signs of promise for a new head coach to build on. Until that decision is made, Matt Hamshaw and co. will look to do that, but until Tuesday’s visit of Oxford United, the focus now shifts back to David Clowes.
Derby (5-2-2-1): Zetterström (GK); Thompson, Langås, Phillips, Clarke, Osborn (Elder 66’); Ozoh (Jackson 76’), Adams; Goudmijn (Harness 76’), Mendez-Laing (C) (Armstrong 66’); Salvesen (Yates 60’).
Substitutes not used: Vickers (GK), Forsyth, Barkhuizen, Nyambe.
Norwich (4-2-3-1): Gunn (GK); Fisher (Stacey 60’), Duffy, Doyle, Mahovo (Chrisene 85’); McLean (C), Nuñez (Ben Slimane 60’); Crnac (Schwartau 76’), Marcondes (Wright 85’), Dobbin; Sargent.
Substitutes not used: Long (GK), Cordoba, McConville, Jurasek.
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