Robbed

An untidy East Midlands Derby at Pride Park ended all square with the majority of the games talking points being provided by referee Stuart Attwell after another eccentric performance by the man who gave the mysterious goal in the Watford v Reading game a few weeks ago. A poor first half passed with little incident but the second half produced an improvement with both sides creating more going forward and a failure to clear their lines from a corner saw Derby fall behind when the ball ended in the net with the last touch coming off Tito Villa. Derby fought their way back into the game and Villa then made amends by touching home a Commons freekick to level the match. The referee then went about making a name for himself by brandishing a total of eight yellow cards and harshly sending off Lewis McGugan for the visitors before denying two Addison goals, the first when he pointed to the spot for a penalty and the second for a reason only known to himself with even visiting keeper Lee Camp clueless.

Derby were forced into a change at the back before the game when Martin Albrechtsen failed a fitness test in the morning with Dean Leacock replacing him and Nacer Barazite making a return from injury and claiming a place on the bench. The game started at a fast pace with neither side able to put together any meaningful possession although Derby came close when a corner wasn't cleared and Addison knocked the ball back in but no one could get on the end of it. Anderson was caught offside on sixteen minutes when a deflected McGugan effort fell to him when clear in the box and Paul Green hit a powerful effort at the other end from a Commons corner but it didn't make it as far as Camp in the Forest goal before being blocked.

Rob Hulse had gone down in the build up to that opportunity and he was replaced three minutes later by Tito Villa. Addison and Fletcher then picked up yellow cards for a minor squabble in the middle of the park before Ellington volleyed over from a Villa knockdown. Gary Teale had the last effort of the first half after cutting in from the left but his effort sailed harmlessly over and a poor first half ended without either keeper being called into meaningful action.

Nacer Barazite came on at half time for the ineffective Gary Teale but the first opportunity of the second half fell to Rob Earnshaw who got on the end of a long ball but the former Derby man was denied by a superb last tackle from Jordan Stewart as he waited for the ball to drop whilst clean through. Leacock and Nyatanga quickly followed each other into the referee's notebook for innocuous incidents.

Forest were starting to enjoy more possession and Luke Chambers was denied by a superb reaction save down to his left by Bywater but the visitors were not to be denied moments later when the corner was not cleared correctly and the ball ended up being driven in low from the right-hand side, Chambers again got on the end with the ball ricocheting around off Bywater and Villa seemingly getting the final touch before the ball ended up in the net

Nacer Barazite made his first meaningful contribution on 55 minutes as he played a one-two with Connolly before cutting in and firing in a shot from just outside the area but the ball passed well wide of the goal. Anderson then put over a long cross at the other end but McGugan couldn't stretch far enough to get his foot on the ball in a dangerous position.

Derby were back on level terms in the 65th minute when Commons fired over a free kick from the left hand side, Barazite got a touch on the ball and Villa was on hand to stab home from close range to level the match. Both sides made changes in the following minutes with Tyson coming on for Forest and Kazmierczak replacing Ellington just after the striker had cut in from the left before firing wide of the goal after dancing past Morgan.

Commons pushed forward to take his place up front alongside Villa and Forest were reduced to ten men moments later, as Green took a touch in midfield Lewis McGugan dived in with a tackle and Attwell decided it was worth a straight red. It was a firm tackle and perhaps a touch overenthusiastic but a yellow card was the worse it appeared to deserve.

The Rams stepped up the pace against the ten men and Commons forced Camp into a save as Derby searched for the winner. With Forest hanging on the game was there for the winning but the home side had to wait until the 88th minute for the next opportunity with Barazite's cross forcing Camp to claw the ball away when it looked as though he had misjudged the ball. The Dutchman then came close again and Derby appeared to have won it when a ball into the box was headed home by Addison only for the celebrations to be cut short with a bizarre decision by the ref to award The Rams a penalty. Barazite stepped up only to be denied by a superb full length save by Camp down to his right. From the resulting corner Kazmierczak was again denied by the former Rams' keeper with a superb save to his left to turn the ball behind.

Derby again appeared to have won it from another superb Addison header from a corner only to be denied by another controversial decision from the ref, Forest quickly broke from the resulting free-kick and seemed to be about to score when Thornhill fell in the area. Attwell was still at the other end explaining his bizarre decision and had in fact brought the play back with not one person inside the ground knowing what was happening. The game ended moments later with both sides coming out of the clash with a point and Derby having been denied in bizarre fashion by the man in black.

Miles Addison
His physical presence gave him the edge in midfield and scored what appeared to be a legitimate winner only to be denied by a penalty decision first of all and then a superb header from a corner was again disallowed for reasons best know only to the ref.
Made one superb point blank save but apart from that was pretty untroubled other than fielding long balls and back passes Put in his usual shift at rightback, got forward when needed in the second half to support Barazite. Created space well going forward but more often than not his crosses ended up behind. Great tackle to deny Earnshaw on his return to Pride Park. Coped well with the Forest frontline and never looked in danger throughout the game. Hitting some good form with his run in the side, coped well on what could have been a difficult afternoon against Earnshaw. Non-existent down the right, lost his man several times and gave the ball away far to often. Bossed the midfield and looked dangerous in the box from set pieces, will be disappointed that his winning goal was disallowed and still cannot find that elusive first goal. Gave his all in midfield and looked to be pushing The Rams towards victory in the final minutes only to be denied by the ref. Strangely quiet game from the former Forest man, the occasion seemed to play on him more than others although he did set the equaliser up from a great delivery from a set piece. Went off with a rib injury midway through the first half. Didn't impose himself on the game as in previous matches and wasn't given much help by the ref in his battle with Morgan. Gave his usual effort, was unlucky to score the opener at the wrong end but made up for it as he snatched the equaliser. Had another goal disallowed in the penalty incident in a hectic finish. Took time to find his feet in his comeback from injury, came into the match later on and looked dangerous when given more space by McGugan's sending off putting in some dangerous crosses. Came on for Ellington and helped build a number of attacks down the left with Stewart late on. Paul Jewell came onto the pitch at the end of the game to remonstrate with the referee and was scathing in his appraisal of the officials performance in post match interviews. His side hadn't played up to the standard set in previous encounters but they again showed the ability to bounce back when things went against them and where extremely unlucky not to have won the game after dominating the last fifteen minutes after the sending off of McGugan. What can you say? If he's the great hope of the future as far as referee's are concerned then we can look forward to countless controversial performances from the men in black and more column inches about decisions rather than the match itself. Only weeks ago Attwell gave a goal that didn't actually enter the goal at any point and yet his linesman got the blame and today he seemed intent on being the centre of attention all afternoon with a series of petty decisions and numerous bookings and a sending off that left many in Pride Park puzzled. The incidents in injury time could be debated all night and it'll be interesting if he can defend himself in the press once he's seen the replays of the disallowed goals.

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