An incredible comeback against Leeds United earned Derby County a massive boost in their promotion hopes. The Rams had one final hurdle to overcome this afternoon as they locked horns with Aston Villa at Wembley in the playoff final. Frank Lampard was confident yet cautious before the game and despite a composed outing from his men, moments of mediocrity led to heartbreak for the Derbyshire outfit.
Derby had one late hope of staging a comeback when Marty Waghorn reduced the deficit in the closing minutes, but the outstanding Villans managed to protect the narrow lead and secured a 2-1 victory to script a dramatic return to the top flight of English football.
Here is how the Derby County players were rated in their loss.
Kelle Roos: 3
The Dutchman had a nervy start to the game, and his second-half howler allowed John McGinn to double the lead which eventually proved to the winner.
Jayden Bogle: 5
Should have done better defensively to stop the onrushing Anwar El Ghazi during Aston Villa’s opener. Struggled against the Dutch international throughout as El Ghazi completely outdid him prior to McGinn’s header. The teenager, however, compensated with a smart contribution late in the game which brought the Rams back in contention during the closing moments.
Richard Keogh: 6
Did not spot El Ghazi’s run as he was busy man-marking Tammy Abraham against Ahmed ElMohamady’s sublime cross. The skipper was impressive otherwise with his physicality, clearances and timely tackles.
Fikayo Tomori: 6.5
The Chelsea loanee was clumsy at times while tackling, but he tried to play the ball out from the back with his smart passing and dribbling traits. Won most of the duels and did not allow the likes of Jack Grealish and Albert Adomah to trouble much inside the box.
Ashley Cole: 6
The 38-year-old former England international had a decent outing even though he concentrated more on his defensive duties rather than making overlapping runs from the left-hand flank.
Bradley Johnson: 5.5
Was combative in the middle of the park but his passing could have been a lot better. Johnson misplaced one-fourth of his total passes and often let his teammates down with the final delivery.
Tom Huddlestone: 4.5
Started the game brightly, however, failed to resist the Villans’ trademark counter-attack which led to El Ghazi’s opener. Failed with his tackling attempts and was eventually replaced by Jack Marriott minutes after McGinn’s header.
Harry Wilson: 5
Has been in blistering form all season, but the Liverpool loanee was a huge disappointment this afternoon as he failed to create or threaten enough in the attacking third. Did not succeed with his dribbles and was unable to whip in pinpoint crosses for his fellow attackers.
Mason Mount: 5.5
The Chelsea loanee, too, failed to live up to the expectations as his inexperience led to poor decision making on several occasions. Tested Jed Steer once in Villa goal and tried to set it up for his teammates while operating from a ‘number 10’ role.
Tom Lawrence: 5
An afternoon to forget for the Welshman as he lost the rhythm with time and remained isolated until being replaced by Florian Jozefzoon midway through the second half.
Mason Bennett: 5
Despite starting as the Derby ‘number 9’, Bennett failed to trouble the Aston Villa defence at all. Kept on losing duels and was eventually taken off to be replaced by Martyn Waghorn.
Substitutes
Jack Marriott: 6.5
Had a positive impact as he not only played his part in pulling one back but also tried his level best to put the opponents’ defence on their toes with some energetic and lung-busting runs.
Martyn Waghorn: 7
Marriott’s strike deflected off him and found the net handing the Rams a late to script a turnaround.
Florian Jozefzoon: 6.5
Swung a cross inside the box from the left, which eventually led to Waghorn’s goal around the 81st-minute mark.
