MATCH THREAD ' CARDIFF CITY v DERBY COUNTY ' MATCH THREAD

1-3. Don't want to sound defeatist, but I can't see us getting near Derby with the run they are on.

Last Night
Derby County moved up to second in the Championship after Darren Bent's second-half brace saw off a resilient Blackburn Rovers side.
Bent, on as a second-half substitute, latched onto Ryan Shotton's long throw to steer home the opener.
His second came from close range in stoppage time after Chris Martin's initial shot had been saved.
The victory moves the Rams level on points with leaders Bournemouth, but behind them on goal difference.
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McClaren on Derby v Blackburn
The top five teams in English football's second tier are now separated by only two points.
The double takes Bent to three goals in three appearances for Derby since signing on loan from Aston Villa.

derby to win 3-1.....sorry

Stuart O'Keefe joins Cardiff

Wed 28th Jan 2015




Midfielder Stuart O'Keefe has left Crystal Palace to sign for Championship club Cardiff City on a two-and-a-half-year deal.
Stuart O'Keefe has ended his Crystal Palace tenure after more than four years with the club and agreed a move to Cardiff City.

The 23-year-old midfielder is now under contract at the Cardiff City Stadium until the end of the 2017-18 campaign, having fallen out of favour at Selhurst Park.

Following his move from Southend in 2010, O'Keefe made 51 appearances for Palace, but is now tasked with helping Cardiff push on from mid-table obscurity.
"I'm really happy to be a Cardiff City player," O'Keefe told the club's official website.
"I enjoyed my four years at Palace but I wanted to come here now for a new challenge. I'm 23 and I felt it was the right time to take the next step in my career.
"We've obviously got a big game coming up against Derby County and I'm feeling ready to get going straight away.
"Hopefully I'll be involved and I'm looking forward to getting out there in a Cardiff City shirt."

If we lose Tan am hoping he will sack him. Is he coming to game for sure.

I wondered if Turner might be out - worried that the bad challenge on him against Reading was on the dodgy ankle that kept him out until November - that might explain why we enquired about Huth. It will be quite a shock for Manga playing in Africa on Sunday, and playing in arctic-like conditions the following Saturday!! So I reckon we'll start with Connolly & Morrison at the heart of defence. If we can keep pressing Derby for the 90 mins (we only managed about 25 mins against Watford), then I can see a 2-1 win. If we don't, then a 2-4 defeat. O'Keefe & Peltier haven't been playing much lately, so we will see how short of match-fitness they are! Bloooooooobirds

I don't know why but I reckon 2-1 us! Just got a feeling that they will shock us

TOM Ince is the latest name to be linked with a move to Derby County.

Sky Sports suggest Steve McClaren is considering a loan move for the Hull City winger, who made six appearances for rivals Nottingham Forest in a temporary spell this season.

Ince, the son of former Blackpool manager Paul, made headlines when he scored 31 goals in 86 appearances for the Tangerines three years ago.


Derby have also been linked with moves for QPR pair Junior Hoilett and Matt Phillips in the last week.

BBC

Thurs 29th Jan 2015

Darren Bent: Ryan Shotton says striker is ideal for Derby

Darren Bent's goalscoring instincts are just what was required to help Derby County's Championship promotion bid, according to team-mate Ryan Shotton.
Substitute Bent scored both goals in Tuesday's 2-0 win over Blackburn Rovers, taking his tally to three in three appearances.
"He is exactly what we've needed," defender Shotton told BBC Radio Derby. "He brings a different dimension.
"He has three in two games now and could have had six goals already."
Bent, who is on loan from Aston Villa, also netted in the FA Cup fourth-round win over Chesterfield on Saturday.
And his double against Rovers means he has scored a goal in just over every 45 minutes he has been on the pitch for the Rams so far.

They have heavily relied on Chris Martin, who has scored 18 goals in 37 games for Derby this season.
"Chris is great up front but he needs a little back-up to take all the weight of his shoulders," added Shotton.
"There are lads in the team who are doing great, but Benty can come in and do things like that.
"He's been doing great and has been great in training."
Manager Steve McClaren was also impressed with the contribution of the former England striker, who has joined until the end of the season.
"He was "Johnny-on-the-spot" and that's why he's come on," said McClaren.
"I used to play and when I ran in to the box the ball never fell at my feet.
"These guys seem to run in to the box and it falls at their feet and they score. It's a knack and it's a good one."

' RUSSELL SLADE SAYS HE IS STILL HOPEFUL '
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Thursday 29th January 2015

By Terry Phillips

New signing Stuart O’Keefe is ready for his Bluebirds debut against Derby County and pledged to add real energy in midfield and ‘keep the ball moving’.

Cardiff City midfielder Stuart O'Keefe ready for new challenge with the Bluebirds after move from Crystal Palace

O'Keefe is set to make his Bluebirds bow in Saturday's clash with Derby County in Cardiff

New signing Stuart O’Keefe is ready for his Bluebirds debut against Derby County and pledged to add real energy in midfield and ‘keep the ball moving’.

O’Keefe, 23, looks certain to be one of two players who will make their first Cardiff City appearances, along with Lee Peltier at right-back.

“I like to bring a bit of energy to midfield and keep the ball moving in that area,” said O’Keefe after signing a contract which runs through to 2017.

“That’s what my game is about and the Gaffer has asked me to come in and contribute to the team in that way."

“We’ve got a big game coming up against Derby and I’m ready to get going immediately.

“Hopefully I’ll be involved and I’m looking forward to getting out there in a Cardiff shirt.”

O’Keefe, who will wear squad number 22, is set to link with Peter Whittingham, Tom Adeyemi and Craig Noone in midfield with Kenwyne Jones and Alex Revell leading the attack.

“I enjoyed my four years at Palace, but Cardiff offered me a new challenge and I wanted to make the move,” he said.

“I’m 23 and felt it was the right time to take the next step in my career.”

If we play the predicted team we will struggle. Manga must return. Fabio can't defend and he cannot play Jones and Revell together ever again.

' DERBY COUNTY '

The Rams have kept clean sheets in five of their last six games in all competitions, and we expect Steve McClaren to choose a similar defence from those games.

We also expect Darren Bent to be included after a brilliant start to his loan at the Midlands side, with Stephen Warnock also with a shout of his first appearance for his new side.

By Barney Corkhill.
Last Updated: Thursday, January 29, 2015

Derby County could move top of the table with a victory over Cardiff City when the two sides meet in South Wales on Saturday.

The Rams will know exactly what is required of them to climb to the summit by the time they begin their match, with current leaders Bournemouth in action against Watford on Friday night.

Only goal difference currently separates the two sides, so any slip-up for the Cherries would mean that victory would put Steve McClaren's side back in pole position.

Indeed, with Ipswich Town the only other current occupant of the automatic promotion and playoff places not facing another team in the top six this weekend, there is a real chance for the Rams to steal a march on their closest rivals.

Derby have done well to bounce back from their surprise defeat to rivals Nottingham Forest earlier this month, winning consecutive matches without conceding to make it six victories and six clean sheets from their last seven outings.

Loanee Darren Bent was the hero on Tuesday as he came off the bench to score both goals in a 2-0 victory over Blackburn Rovers, and his form since joining could be enough to earn him a first league start this weekend.

Only Bournemouth and Watford have scored more goals than Derby in the league this season, and Bent's extra firepower on top of that could prove crucial in a fascinating battle for automatic promotion.

The Rams boast the second best away record in the division but will be playing on the road for the first time since their 1-0 win over fellow high-flyers Ipswich Town on January 10 this weekend.

They don't have a great record when visiting South Wales, however, failing to win on any of their last seven visits to Cardiff. Indeed, home and away, they are without a win in seven meetings with the Bluebirds.

Jamie Ward is pushing for another start following his return from injury, but the match comes too soon for long-term absentee George Thorne, while Johnny Russell is also sidelined.

Ben Turner will miss the rest of the season through injury.

Cardiff's seasons at risk of fizzling out, a late Championship play off push is unlikely but any dwindling hopes would require us to get a positive result against Derby on Saturday.

Derby themselves come to the Cardiff City Stadium in second place looking to keep up an automatic promotion place.

Injury to Ben Turner, his latest one, could well keep Ben Turner out for the rest of the season he'll definitely miss the next 12 weeks with an ankle injury.

Stuart O'Keefe should make his debut after his arrival from Crystal Palace.

Derby will have to do without Johnny Russell once again, his hamstring will keep him out for the next month but Darren Bent could have earned himself a start with two goals in midweek.

A 2-2 draw was the outcome at the iPro Stadium in September, this wouldn't be a bad result if we could replicate it and extend our unbeaten run against Derby to eight but the odds would be stacked against us as we've lost our last three in all competitions.

Derby County Site

Team News: Cardiff v Derby

Maintaining our Championship promotion push is what Derby are looking to do this weekend as we go on our travels.

A midweek win at Blackburn meant that Derby moved back into second place in the league, we'll be looking to strengthen our grip on automatic promotion when we head to Cardiff's Cardiff City Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Cardiff will be without Ben Turner (ankle) but can hand a debut to new signing Stuart O'Keefe.

We've got to, once again, do without Johnny Russell (hamstring) and he's facing a spell of five-weeks or so on the sidelines, which is a real setback for us but one we'll have to cope with.

His two-goals from the bench in midweek might have earned Darren Bent a place in the starting XI.

If ever there was a time we would end a baron run against Cardiff you would fancy this to be now, the reverse fixture at the iPro ended in a two-two draw in the end earlier in the season.

On the way now, still not overly confident but anything can happen in football

Plenty of goals today I think 3-3

Is Tan at the game today?

Cardiff City Team : Moore, Peltier, Malone, Morrison, Connolly, Whittingham, O’Keefe, Gunnarsson, Noone, Harris, Revell.

Cardiff City subs: Fabio, Manga, Jones, Macheda, Adeyemi, Ralls, Wilson.

Looks like 4-5-1 or 4-3-3 unless he's starting Harris up front

Loss 1 - 4 I am afraid, cannot believe he has Jones on the bench.

15 min mark: 0-0 Simon Moore saves a penalty on 9 minutes. Besides that nothing to report.

defence taken apart then

23 min: Goal Cardiff 0 Derby 1.

Can we score 2 against Derby?

Commentator saying there is no pattern or organisation to the team. Does that mean its being poorly managed?

30 min: Still 1-0 Derby and nothing has happened since the goal after 23 minutes.

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