Derby County clashed heads with Middlesbrough at the Riverside Stadium earlier this afternoon hoping to earn a positive result on the road. The Rams began the match on the front foot and made a breakthrough in the 19th minute when George Friend scored an own goal after Scott Malone delivered a fantastic ball into the Boro box. The home team tried to respond but couldn’t find an equaliser before half-time.
The second half started with Tony Pulis’ team enjoying a bit more dominance. They got lucky in the 84th minute when Jayden Bogle made an unforgivable error when he shinned the ball past the helpless Derby keeper despite not being under any pressure from the Boro attackers. The match ended with both teams scoring an own goal each and sharing the spoils on the day.
Let’s take a look at how each Derby County player fared during the contest against the Boro.
GK: Scott Carson – 6/10
Despite a few nervy moments in the first half, the former Liverpool keeper had a relatively comfortable game in goal for Frank Lampard’s team and did not have a save to make in the game.
RB: Jayden Bogle – 4/10
He ended up costing the Rams two points from this game after making a horrendous error in defence which will haunt him for some time.
CB: Richard Keogh – 7/10
He made a last-ditch goal-saving tackle in the first half to save Carson’s blushes after the Derby keeper gave away the ball close to his own box. Keogh was also a good distributor of the ball while operating at the heart of the Rams defence.
CB: Fikayo Tomori – 7/10
He read the game well and made some great interceptions under pressure. Tomori was unlucky not to have kept a clean sheet on the day especially after neutralising the threat of Britt Assombalonga during the game.
LB: Scott Malone – 7.5/10
The Derby full-back was a wonderful outlet down the left flank and delivered some telling balls during the game. He played a massive part in the lead up to George Friend’s own goal in the first half.
CM: Harry Wilson – 8/10
The on-loan Liverpool prospect was Derby’s biggest threat going forward but was unlucky not to have scored during the game. He went close with his attempts, and on any other day, he could have scored a hattrick.
CM: Tom Huddlestone – 6.5/10
He worked tirelessly in midfield and broke down a lot of Middlesbrough attacks while also retaining possession well for the away side.
CM: Mason Mount – 7/10
The young Englishman was a real threat from midfield but lacked the cutting edge with his shots from range.
RM: Martyn Waghorn – 6.5/10
He put enough pressure on George Friend to force the Boro left-back into making a mistake and scoring an own goal in the first half. However, Waghorn got cautioned for a reckless challenge on Stewart Downing in the first half.
ST: Jack Marriott – 6/10
The Rams forward fed the ball to the wide players well but lacked the finishing touch in front of the Boro goal.
LM: Tom Lawrence – 6/10
He was always looking to create chances for his teammates in the attacking third but did not get the rub of the green on the day.
Substitutes:
CM: Bradley Johnson – 6/10
He came on to provide some fresh legs and energy to the Rams midfield.
ST: David Nugent – 6/10
The veteran striker got a great chance to score but couldn’t trouble the Boro keeper with his tame attempt.
