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Glimpses of positivity despite Rams defeat
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Glimpses of positivity despite Rams defeat
Derby County do not have the best opening day record, with their last win coming in July 2022, when they secured a 1-0 victory at home to Oxford United in League One.
It felt as though they were on course to break that curse after 45 minutes at The Valley on Saturday, as they took a 1-0 lead into the interval courtesy of a well-worked breakaway and a composed finish from Sam Szmodics.
However, despite Derby's lively start, history did in fact repeat itself. A second-half turnaround from Charlton Athletic saw the Rams fall to a 2-1 defeat, and yet another opening day loss.
Dropping points from a winning position was perhaps the most frustrating part of the result, something they were found guilty of far too often last season. Frustrations also came from some questionable substitutions, with a feeling John Eustace left it too long to make his attacking changes, only doing so once the damage had been done.
Despite the disappointing result, there were still some glimpses of positivity to take from the afternoon in south London.
Newest addition Alex Mowatt looked composed on the ball, progressed the Rams forward on a couple of occasions, and was defensively solid in midfield.
Szmodics looks as though he has come back to Derby fired up and with a point to prove having now scored two goals in two matches. He was a constant nuisance to the Charlton defence, running himself into the ground to apply pressure and feeding off Carlton Morris to get into some dangerous positions.
Corey Blackett-Taylor once again impressed off the bench, this time against his former club, looking confident on the ball and aiming to beat his man every time he received a pass on the left-hand side.
For the final 10 minutes pretty much everything Derby created came through him and with his Rams future in doubt, he appears to be putting up a solid fight for his place in Eustace's long-term plans.
In the end it did just feel like Derby ran out of legs in the second half. They were not battered by Charlton and actually strung together some impressive passages of play, particularly in the first period.
What is apparent is the need to sign two or three more players to complete the squad, and provide a little bit of extra depth - particularly out wide.
I have full confidence Derby would have been much better prepared for the season's opener had Turki Alalshikh not pulled out of his investment deal. Because of that, they are now operating on 'plan B', which will mean patience among the fan base will be important for the first few games.
Mistakes will be made, and Derby will look leggy at times. However, I believe the foundations are there for this side to compete in the top half of the Championship.
Once players like Derry Murkin and Rhian Brewster get back to full fitness and a couple of new additions start to bed in I believe the Rams will start to have a lot more joy.
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