This was a good point for Derby. You could tell by Jim Smith’s broad smile as he walked off the Craven Cottage turf. Jean Tigana’s stylish newcomers had scored twice against Manchester United and Sunderland but finished their first week in the Premiership frustrated by a disciplined defensive performance from the Rams. There wasn’t even too much swashbuckling football to savour down by the banks of the Thames as the visiting defence did a terrific job of negating Fulham’s flair.
The Hammersmith End decried the visitors’ lack of ambition with chants of ‘boring, boring Derby’ but that would have been music to Smith’s ears. It was all the more laudable given that several of County’s key players were missing. Horatio Carbonari, Stefano Eranio and Fabrizio Ravanelli didn’t travel to London, but Smith’s side battled on regardless. Plenty of teams will respond to Fulham’s desire to pass their way to success with dogged defending and it is up to Tigana to find a way to break through. Plan B might well be required on this evidence as the hosts created precious little following an early flurry of chances.
Louis Saha volleyed a cross from his strike partner Barry Hayles wide in the first minute and John Collins twice flashed free-kicks wide of Andy Oakes’ net. Hayles drew a fine save from Derby’s stand-in goalkeeper when his long-range effort was tipped away for a corner, but any sense that Fulham’s breakthrough was just around the corner was dispelled when the visitors perked up after Giorgi Kinkladze had come on for the injured Malcolm Christie ten minutes before half time. The Georgian playmaker almost opened the scoring a minute after his introduction with a lovely curler that whistled agonisingly wide and laid on a good chance for Seth Johnson. The confidence surged through Smith’s side with Edwin van der Sar extended by Paul Boertien and Deon Burton before half time.
Fulham might have been guilty of looking for an extra pass rather than going for goal and the home crowd were frustrated by a succession of brave Derby blocks in the second period. Smith’s switch to a back three left Fulham’s front men well marshalled as Chris Riggott, Danny Higginbotham and Brian O’Neil stuck determinedly to the task at hand. Sean Davis tested Oakes with a fierce free-kick, but the hosts lacked invention with Steed Malbranque kept quiet by the diligent Craig Burley. Hayles and Kit Symons might have done better with headers but Malbranque spurned Fulham’s finest chance in the final five minutes when a poor touch allowed an advancing Oakes to halt his surge towards the Derby goal.
FULHAM (4-4-2): van der Sar; Finnan, Brevett, Melville, Goma (Symons 14); Davis, Collins (Harley 65), Goldbaek (Legwinski 65), Malbranque; Saha, Hayles. Subs (not used): Taylor, Betsy.
DERBY COUNTY (3-5-2): Oakes; O’Neil, Riggott , Higginbotham; Mawene (Murray 83), Burley, Powell, Johnson, Boertien; Christie (Kinkladze 37), Burton. Subs (not used): Grant, Morris, Danio.
REFEREE: Mike Dean (The Wirrall).
ATTENDANCE: 15,641.
