Pedro stunner silences the Rams with a sting in the tail

Joao Pedro’s superb strike was the decisive moment of quality in a tepid affair between Derby and Watford at Pride Park but a fourth defeat in five games will leave Phillip Cocu’s men desperate for momentum before going into battle with local rivals Nottingham Forest next weekend.

On a night where both sides seemed content to settle for a point, the game was far from a classic. Opting for a 3-4-3 formation, the emphasis was placed on Derby building out from the back and following a quiet opening from the home side, some slack passing across the backline showed their technical frailties.

Neither George Evans, Curtis Davies or Matt Clarke looked particularly confident with the ball at their feet and after a few scares with some stray passing, they opted to hit the ball long into channels which weren’t in tune to Rooney’s strengths, playing up top on his own.

As Derby felt their way into proceedings and got the irrepressible Wayne Rooney on the ball, his link-up play with eager running partners Jason Knight and Duane Holmes caused Watford’s defence problems notably in the first-half. 

Going into the game, Rooney himself acknowledged that he was still short on match fitness but his class was evident throughout on an evening where he furrowed a lone path at the spearhead of Derby’s attack. In the opening half, Rooney produced three moments of quality that should have had the Rams leading by the break.

His delightful corner was a whisker away from being converted by Clarke and another dangerous ball into the box provided another golden opportunity at the far post only for Evans and Davies to get in each other’s way at the crucial moment.

Rooney was once more instrumental in Derby’s best move of the game, as he linked up with Knight on the left-hand side following some sloppy play from Watford skipper Tom Cleverley, Rooney’s run and cut back for Holmes should have brought greater reward than a harmless shot that drifted over Ben Foster’s goal.

Watford were the stronger outfit in the second-half. Ken Sema and Domingos Quina were looking far livelier on either side of their attack and without creating any clear cut opportunities, the Hornets built enough sustained pressure to get their reward in the 75th minute.

Receiving the ball from Ben Wilmot on the edge of the box, 19-year-old Brazilian striker, Joao Pedro took one touch before unleashing a curling shot that gave David Marshall no chance in the Derby goal. If that moment of genius is anything to go by, the Hornets look to have a real talent on their hands.

The game felt like it would be decided by a single goal but Derby really should have been level just three minutes later with Rooney missing the kind of chance you’d have put your house on him to score. 

Having been put through on goal by Tom Lawrence, the former England striker inexplicably fired the ball wide with the goal at his mercy. Derby’s missed chances were pivotal on the evening and another reminder in the Championship that there is often very little between teams in the division. 

Whilst it was more steady than a spectacular performance from Watford, the piece of individual brilliance was decisive from Pedro and worthy of winning any game of football. 

Hornets boss Vladimir Ivić was pleased with the win following a difficult week and was forthright in his post-match interview, acknowledging the lack of creativity in his Watford side in their opening games of the campaign.

‘It wasn’t pretty, we did our job on the game and took the three points. We didn’t create a lot, but we have a lot of young players playing for the first time in the Championship. We must keep patient and work with them to improve. In this moment, this is the best that we have”

“With six players away on international duty and playing two games, it is not easy. It’s a long trip for some players. I want to prepare as coach in the best way but only having 11 players to work with in the last two weeks, it’s not nice and it’s not nice for any coach.”

Following Derby’s fourth defeat in five league outings this season, Phillip Cocu didn’t seem overly concerned with Derby’s run of results and remained philosophical.

“We deserved maybe more than a point. Sometimes in football, you play a good game and you don’t win. It’s the beauty of the game and it can be frustrating.”

“If we play like this and combine it with the attitude, energy and the press, we can’t blame the guys.

“In the short term, we have to try and play like we did today. We have (in the team) everybody putting their best effort in and it was a great team performance. I am sure we will win some of the games coming up.”

Despite the defeat, Derby fans should have some cause for optimism. Clearly depleted by numbers, Derby will have been encouraged by Tom Lawrence’s thirty-minute substitute performance.  Showing glimpses of quality, he will be a welcome addition back into the first-team fold.

His movement between the lines was evident and a moment of brilliance to skip away from two Watford defenders resulted in a determined run to get a shot on target. As Lawrence regains match fitness, his contributions further up the pitch will give Derby much-needed impetus. 

If any criticism could be levelled at Derby’s play, they didn’t move the ball quickly enough throughout proceedings nor committed enough men forward when the opportunity to counter-attack arose, particularly in the second half.

In the moments where Derby showed greater purpose, they looked a genuine threat to the Watford rearguard, perhaps guilty of paying the Hornets a little too much respect as a newly relegated Premier League side.

With striker Martyn Waghorn and Polish winger Kamil Jozwiak set to return to action this week and the arrival of well-travelled Colin Kazim-Richards, the Rams will have much welcomed attacking options. Whilst it remains to be seen if Cocu will persist with Wayne Rooney at the helm of Derby’s attack, the Dutchman will be hoping those forward players can pick up results sooner rather than later.

There is no doubt that Derby need players back on the pitch but the string of defeats cannot continue. Another defeat in midweek to Huddersfield Town could set up for a very interesting local derby for Cocu against Nottingham Forest next Friday evening.

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