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Many had thought that Dario's return would be a massive event, but as he always does, he quietly took his place in the Main Stand hoping not to be seen or singled out, such is the modesty of our manager. Bearing in mind the things he has achieved for our club, no one would begrudge him a special welcome; however, he went about his business as usual. His attitude is and always has been that individual celebration counts for nothing compared to team spirit and the club as a whole. Welcome back Dario.
So, onto the game. The impressive Andrew Barrowman took just ten minutes of his full debut to bag his first Alex goal, crafted by slick passing following Brammer's important interception. Cult hero Justin Cochrane found the Birmingham teenager and with Derby's defence stretched, had his shot saved by Lee Grant. Ashton set up Barrowman following the rebound, and the loanee clinically dispatched it into the Gresty Road End net.
From what we have seen of him, the club can't be faulted for bringing him in. We were expecting a player with Premiership experience, but as wages aren't particularly generous at Crewe, Barrowman was the only option. Maybe that’s a good thing because he is raw, natural talent who has added a little spark to the side. The staff can work on him, and there's a good chance to keep him with Birmingham's growing array of strikers. Neil Baker orchestrated the move, and although a little early it looks like a masterstroke.
Revitalised Ulsterman Steve Jones was at hand to gift wrap Deano a clinical finish on twenty-four minutes that virtually killed the game. The front two were explosive and seem to have responded to Baker's controversial public grilling two weeks ago in the right manner.
I was a little disappointed with Derby. Despite them having a torrid season, I think they have the right idea in employing George Burley and using predominantly home-grown players. However, they looked awful on Saturday, devoid of ideas and Danny Dichio's embarrassing diving did them absolutely no favours. It comes as no surprise that Hulsey was brought in to replace this cart horse at WBA.
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New crowd favourite Ben Rix had a cameo appearance when he replaced Barrowman (who thoroughly deserved his standing ovation from the Main Stand), and finally bagged that first league goal with simple finish to wrap up the win. I think Ben Rix has come of age this season. From being a skinny little boy two years ago, he has turned into a hard, gutsy player who never gives up.
County's sixteen-year old right winger Tom Huddlestone was the biggest threat that Derby possessed, with his physical presence, and was unlucky to score late on. His inexperience unfortunately showed when he lashed out at Dean Ashton in the dying minutes. You cannot really blame him though when his captain Ian Taylor was responsible for a cowardly tackle on David Wright and then a childish reaction aimed at the Alex right back, referee and steward.
One-to-watch Billy Jones replaced Cochrane who got a little mixed up in Taylor's assault of Wright, obviously pushing and shoving being a regular occurrence in his non-league days.
So a professional job from the reds, who had a massive pre-match boost in Dario's return along with skipper Brammer. It just becomes frustrating that we cannot produce such dominating displays as Saturday every week. Why do we have to put up with depressing defeats to clubs like Watford and Coventry when we know we can perform so well?
I really think that this victory can be a turning point for us. We were never explosive as we were against Nottingham Forest, nor negative as we were at Millmor. It was just a gutsy, professional performance that showed we can grind out solid results against the so called 'top teams' without ever being fantastic.
Finally, it's just great to have Dario back running the show. Hopefully we can take heart from his emotional return and 'take this division by the scruff of the neck' like we know we can.