Jerry Yates rescued a point for Derby County as his stoppage-time penalty earned a 1-1 draw against Norwich City.
After Josh Sargent had put the hosts ahead in the second half, Yates levelled when he smashed home from the spot
after Marcus Harness had been kicked in the face.
After Paul Warne was sacked as head coach yesterday, Derby arrived with a game plan to frustrate a Norwich side
that was trying to maintain pressure on the top six.
Norwich struggled to fashion a way through the centre of the pitch, with the visitors happy to pounce on any
attacking opportunities on the counter-attack. In fact, Derby had the ball in the back of the net which was the result
of an excellent move which ended with Ben Osborn crossing for Lars-Jorgen Salvesen smashing into the roof of the
net.
But his joy was short lived as the flag went up for offside. At the end, former Derby winger Lewis Dobbin swept a shot
beyond Jacob Widell Zetterstrom, but the referee’s assistant also chalked off that goal.
In the second half, the Canaries came close from a dangerous free-kick which was headed across goal by Shane
Duffy, but cleared at the back post by Nathaniel Mendez-Laing.
Derby had some encouraging moments when Nathaniel Mendez-Laing got in behind the Norwich defence, but chose
the wrong option. But the Norwich goal came at the end of a wonderful one-touch move that ended with Sargent
crashing a shot past Zetterstrom. But in stoppage time, Harness was rewarded with a penalty after he was kicked in
the face and Yates slotted straight down the middle.
But despite the events off the pitch dominating the agenda, the players produced a spirited performance on it, and
they were certainly worth their point. Having avoided an eighth straight league defeat, it should give them plenty of
confidence ahead of Tuesday night’s clash with Oxford United in what many see as one of the biggest games of the
season so far.
Derby had worked on a game plan that had centred on being well-organised while trying to take advantage of
counter-attacking opportunities, and they were so well-disciplined here that Norwich simply ran out of ideas in the
first half. Jacob Widell Zetterstrom had a very quiet opening 45 minutes until Norwich tried to up the tempo in the
second half, and you sensed it would take something special to find a chink in Derby’s armour.
In fairness, the move that led to Josh Sargent’s opening goal was a terrific one-touch passing move that showed what
can happen when you quicken up your attack. But despite falling behind, Derby showed excellent spirit and kept
plugging away in the hope of salvaging an equaliser. Marcus Harness showed tremendous bravery to put his head
where it hurt to win the penalty, and Jerry Yates was ice cool from the spot.
That ensured Derby took a point back to the East Midlands, and the reaction at full-time told its own story as relief
dripped from the terraces amid cries of “the Rams are staying up, ole, ole.” The players enjoyed the moment amid
some powerful scenes at a club desperate to climb out of trouble.
The challenge facing the new manager
Should John Eustace become the man to replace Paul Warne as Derby County’s new head coach, then he will be
more than aware of the problem he needs to solve, as will any other of the candidates.
Derby are always defensively solid, which gives them a firm platform on which to build, but the other end of the pitch
is what needs attention.
In the second half, Nathaniel Mendez-Laing twice got in behind the Norwich defence but couldn’t produce the final
pass. That has been a common theme for this Derby team, which is one of the reasons why they find themselves
below the dreaded bottom line.
With the transfer window now closed, the incoming boss will have to work with what he has unless Derby decides to
enter the free-agent market. That was being explored before Warne departed and it’s still an option on the table.
If Warne’s successor can solve the problem of creating chances in open play, then Derby have a chance of staying up.
But it needs to happen quickly.
Langas looks the part
Sondre Langas certainly would not have expected such a chaotic and dramatic end to his first week at Pride Park
after sealing a £4m move from Viking FK. Before his exit on Friday, Paul Warne had always planned to give the
Norwegian international his debut and the team he picked remained in place under the excellent leadership of first-
team coach Matt Hamshaw.
Langas was dropped into the heart of the defence and having arrived as one of Norway’s hottest prospects, he
produced an excellent performance that has already created a buzz on the terraces. It was enough to land him the
man of the match award following a display in which the 23-year-old oozed composure, awareness and a great deal
of pace.
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