Derby County blew the chance to move seven points clear of Bolton in the race for automatic promotion as Sam Hoskins’ first-half goal sealed Northampton Town’s victory at Sixfields.
After a hugely scrappy opening, a lovely touch from Nathaniel Mendez-Laing took him into the area which saw him pick out Liam Thompson whose shot was blocked. But a better chance was to come just moments later when Louie Sibley picked out Martyn Waghorn at the back post but he blazed over the bar.
That missed proved to be costly as Northampton took the lead when, although Kane Wilson appeared to be fouled in the build-up, Louis Appere managed to get the better of Sonny Bradley to swing in a cross that Sam Hoskins converted brilliantly on the volley.
That stung Derby into a response and they created another two good opportunities when Ebou Adams saw a shot cleared off the line by Sam Sherring. And there was an even better opportunity to come when a fine cross from Kane Wilson picked out the midfielder who was unmarked but planted his header over the bar.
The Cobblers then came close to a second after the break when Manny Monthe let fly from the edge of the box with his powerful 20-yard striker cannoning off the post and away to safety.
Derby continued to try to find an equaliser as Waghorn saw an effort cleared off the line, but that was the nearest Derby came to a leveller as their hopes of a fifth successive win came to a halt.
A big chance blown
With everybody else on the international break, this game was presented as such a brilliant opportunity to turn the psychological screw on the other sides in the top six. But as is the Derby way, they blew an incredible chance to move two points behind leaders Portsmouth while the cheers at Bolton, Barnsley and Peterborough could almost be heard at full-time.
And ultimately this was a day in which everything that could go wrong invariably did. For a start, Derby spurned three terrific chances in the first half before Nathaniel Mendez-Laing limped off injured and Sonny Bradley got sent off. Paul Warne said he felt that his side did not cope particularly well with the pressure of having to win, but it just looked a tired performance in which there was little in the way of inspiration particularly in the final third.
Northampton’s gameplan wasn’t particularly intellectual as they played with one man up front and tried to hit Derby on the counter-attack which is how the goal came about even though there was a foul on Kane Wilson in the build-up.
The biggest positive out of this afternoon is that promotion is still in Derby’s hands with just six games remaining. You wouldn’t want it the other way round and all defeat did here was ensure that the margin for error just becomes smaller.
But let’s be honest. No team be it Bolton, Peterborough, Portsmouth or Barnsley are going to win their remaining seven games on the spin. Neither of them have managed it once in the league this season and if they do it and manage to go up then they will have deserved it. But this was a wake-up call for Derby in that standards cannot drop and beating Blackpool next Friday is crucial.
Blackett-Taylor’s time to shine
The £300,000 signing from Charlton has not had the best of starts to his Derby career not helped by a niggling hamstring injury he suffered not long after his arrival.
But he showed flashes of the qualities in his 30 minutes on the pitch here which suggested he is now ready to show us the brilliance that made him one of the most feared winger’s in the division. There were a couple of moments when he showcased blistering speed, quick feet and teased a couple of decent balls into the box, one of which that Curtis Nelson just couldn’t make count.
But it was an encouraging contribution from the former Aston Villa player who now has an opportunity to really make his mark in this promotion push. If Mendez-Laing is going to be missing for some time (more of that below) then Blackett-Taylor is the next-best winger in line given his pace.
If he could step up to the plate now, it would certainly be most welcome because as he proved at Charlton, when he is in the mood, nobody can live with him which is why Derby signed him in the first place.
The injuries keep on mounting and Mendez-Laing blow is a nightmare
It’s fair to say that a season of the TV show Holby City has encountered fewer casualties than Derby this term and they still continue to pile up. Tom Barkhuizen is out for three weeks, Craig Forsyth is struggling with a calf problem and the list of players who are currently out would make for an excellent starting XI that could probably challenge for promotion on its own.
