Water way to go for soggy Rams

Football League Cup 2nd round 2nd leg.

Derby County 2-0 Exeter City 

Report By Andy Parker

Derby County splashed their way into the third round of the Coca-Cola Cup in conditions better suited to flippers than football boots at a thoroughly drenched Baseball Ground last night. Alan Ball's Exeter, down if not actually out after a 3-1 home defeat in the first leg, battled gamely but in the end it was the weather that provided the most difficult obstacle to the Rams' progress. With the pressure off after their 3-1 win at St James' Park a fortnight before, the Rams set about opening up the Third Division side with attractive one-touch football. But with the rain standing in ankle-deep pools on the playing surface the water made more telling interceptions than City's defenders." In a non-stop 90-minute downpour, stand-in Rams skipper Michael Forsyth almost fell foul of the conditions after five minutes when his backpass stopped short and keeper Martin Taylor was forced to clear from striker Mickey Ross' toes. But the action soon switched to the opposite end with Paul Kitson showing his mobility and pace were unhampered by the wet. The striker played a key role in the Rams' opener, taking on Marco Gabbiadini's pass and releasing Paul Simpson to drive down the left and cut inside before supplying a cross that found Gabbiadini unmarked at the far post to head in via Peter Fox's gloves. Simpson almost added a second with a 20-yard drive from Paul Williams' cross that Fox fingertipped away as the Rams again opened up City on the left then John Harkes showed the way on the opposite wing with a tricky run that ended with Ronnie Robinson taking the ball off Williams' head. It wasn't quite all one-way, though, and Taylor got down well to block Stuart Storer's shot through a forest of legs following a right wing City corner and abrasive midfielder Danny Bailey saw a thunderous drive charged down. Fox saved well from Gabbiadini at the opposite end then fumbled Williams' cross away for a corner, Kitson deflecting Harkes' drive from the kick over the bar, then the former Stoke keeper stretched out an arm to deprive Gabbiadini of a simple tap-in. It was a credit to both sides that they had produced so much good football in the first half but with conditions worsening by the minute the game rapidly slithered into farce after the break. Now it was the forceful running of Mark Pembridge that caught the eye rather than Derby's largely futile attempts at a passing game and the Welsh powerhouse twice set up chances for Simpson to drive narrowly off target in the opening minutes, then released the winger again for a cross that the fading Kitson placed disappointingly over the bar from six yards. But if Kitson's running power was on the wane, his menace was not and his very presence in the danger area led to the Rams' second goal on 63 minutes. As the No 9 hovered around the danger area, Robinson conceded a needless corner and when Scott Daniels headed Simpson's kick away from the near post the ball fell straight to substitute Tommy Johnson, on for Williams at half time. The Geordie striker, showing a composure that he has often lacked in the past, took careful aim before firing a rising drive into the roof of the net from 12 yards.

Derby win 5-1 on aggregate 

Referee: SJ Lodge (Barnsley).

Attendance: 10,569.

Scorers:
Gabbiadini 14, Johnson 63 (Derby County).

Derby County:
Taylor 7, Charles 6 (Kavanagh 68), Forsyth 6. *PEMBRIDGE 8. Short 7, Wassall 6, Harkes 7, Williams 6 (Johnson 45, 6). Kitson 7, Gabbladini 7, Simpson 7. Sub not used: Sutton.

Exeter City:
Fox, Minett, Robinson. Bailey. Daniels. Brown. Storer. Coughlin, Jepson, Ross, Wigley. Subs not used: Whiston, Percival, Noon.