Magic Dust

For the first time in about three years I'm actually looking forward to the match tonight but what a letdown it is, at least at first. Caretaker Darren Wassall picks the team and picks a side that is very light in central midfield. Ipswich quickly exploit this and Derby’s well known deficiency in dealing with set pieces enabling them to storm in to a 4-1 half time lead. Not good. Not good at all.

However, the second half is totally different. The team put in a performance full of passion and enthusiasm that gets the crowd going to an extent I’ve not seen in years. Derby storm back to clinch a 4-4 draw with the best 45 minutes of football we’ve seen in a long long time. Although I actual left feeling slightly gutted as I was convinced we were going to win.

Afterwards everyone is full of praise for Wassall’s half time team talk and substitutions. The substitutions in particular shocked us because we hadn't made a tactical change before the 70th minute in the last five years.

However Wassall drops his halo in his post-match interview and rather sheepishly admits that well, actually, Steve McClaren came into the dressing room and sprinkled some magic dust. Now that does bode well for the future, which is also known as Leeds on Saturday.

(Tuesday 1^st October)