Baldock executes Wayne Rooney’s cunning plan to boost his resilient Rams

Sam Baldock was the hero for Derby County as the Rams secured their first win of the season and ran out worthy 1-0 winners on Humberside, putting newly-promoted Hull City to the sword.

Despite struggling with squad numbers, Wayne Rooney was able to hand debuts to the experienced Phil Jagielka and striker Sam Baldock in a competitive looking starting 11. Baldock, who had featured for Derby during pre-season, put on an impressive workman-like display in the absence of the influential Colin Kazim-Richards and deservedly grabbed the evening’s headlines.

From the opening stages, the forward’s ability to find space and link the play caused Hull problems throughout the game. As early as the second minute, only an under-hit pass from Louie Sibley prevented him from getting away from his markers with some clever running in between the City centre-halves.

Baldock posed a new type of threat to the relatively inexperienced Alfie Jones and Jacob Greaves than the physicality that they’ve been exposed to in League One and thus far in the Championship through the likes of Preston North End’s Ched Evans and Queens Park Rangers’ Lyndon Dykes.

With Ravel Morrison playing with confidence in an advanced midfield position for the visitors, some nice interchange with Baldock following a surging run from full-back Nathan Byrne almost got Sibley in on goal on 14 minutes. The forward’s one-touch flick to the Derby midfielder almost got him in behind Hull’s defence, but the young midfielder’s touch deserted him as he threatened to break through on goal.

Derby should have been well out of sight by half-time but for some sloppy finishing. Kamil Jozwiak, who put on one of his better displays in a Derby shirt for a while, should have opened the scoring with a 20th-minute effort but was denied by the inside of the post, having turned smartly in-field to escape his marker.

As the Rams continued to hit City on the counter-attack, Baldock really should have opened the scoring just before the break. Some clever movement got him away from his marker, and an incisive pass from Graeme Shinnie got him through on goal. Failing to open up his body enough to create an angle, the striker could only shoot straight at Matt Ingram in the Hull goal.

Derby finally got their deserved breakthrough on 57 minutes after threatening to have nothing to show for their improved performance. Baldock’s poacher finish was the product of his tireless running at the helm of Derby’s attack.

He was quickest to react after Ingram spilt Lee Buchanan’s speculative effort, pouncing on the rebound to stab home for the game’s only goal to the delight of the travelling Derby fans.

The striker almost won his side a penalty minutes later, as bursting through on goal minutes, Alfie Jones was adjudged to have made initial contact outside of the box despite the protests of his teammates.

Talking to Rams TV post-match, Baldock was delighted to get off the mark for his new club.

“It is good to get a goal off my back early doors. It’s been a while since I’ve put the ball in the net, so it meant a lot to me.

“It was a good powerful run from Lee Buchanan for me to follow up on. I think Ravel Morrison tried to take the ball off him, but Lee said ‘no’ and hit it well.

“You just have to follow those in to get one of those cheap ones; fortunately it came my way.”

City never really got going into the rhythm that saw them finish top of League One last season. Whilst new signing Randell Williams showed Buchanan a clean pair of heels on three first-half occasions, having gotten past his man and into dangerous areas, either his touch let him down, or his final ball lacked quality at the decisive moment.

It was symptomatic of City’s night as they struggled to apply any real pressure on Derby’s goal. Given that 39-year old Phil Jagielka was paired alongside fellow veteran Curtis Davies (36), the home side rarely troubled them.

Patience will be required at Hull with a number of new faces and particularly the likes of winger Williams, as he gets up to full match fitness and adapts to life in the Championship. There wasn’t much doubt about the explosive turn of pace and trickery he possesses to excite the home fans.

Matt Smith in the centre of midfield had a bright opening first hour, and the Manchester City loanee showed a series of bright touches and elegance that you’d come to expect from a player learning under the club philosophy of Pep Guardiola.

The 21-year old’s ability to take a man on and find a pass to get Hull moving along the flanks was evident, particularly in the first half as the youngster took the game to the Rams.

Josh Magennis had an uncharacteristic quiet evening, feeding off scraps. Only one first-half delivery from Lewie Coyle found him in the six-yard area, but City failed to deliver quality balls into the box throughout the night when well placed.

If anything, it was Derby themselves that carried Hull’s biggest threat. Twice in the first half, some sloppiness from goalkeeper Kelle Roos, playing out from the back, left Derby exposed, but the Tigers failed to capitalise. The shot-stopper was fortunate at the death to win a free-kick when he appeared to spill the ball in the six-yard box as Hull tried to find a last-minute equalizer.

Having recorded an emphatic opening day win at Preston, the Tigers looked a little short on confidence and lacked belief throughout the game, which will be of some concern to Grant McCann.

“We’ve got to understand that it’s a good division, there’s good teams in this league and we’re not going to have it our own way but I just want my group to start believing in themselves because they’re a very good group.

“They need to understand they’re at this level for a reason because they deserve to be, and we don’t want to be here just to make the numbers up. We’ve got a young group and they’re learning all the time.

“I can say that there’s going to be times a season where these things don’t happen for us. We were lacking a little bit in an attacking sense as a team, but we need to make sure that we keep the door shut at the other end, and again tonight was just a mistake.”

Without influential midfielder George Honeyman and bedding in some new faces across the team whilst the likes of Smith, Williams and Tom Huddlestone get up to speed, it isn’t a time to panic as City adjust to the demands of Championship football.

Huddlestone’s introduction to rapturous applause made an immediate impact, and with such a young squad, his influence could be just what City need in the coming weeks to steady the ship.

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