Brett Pitman secured a
vital point and also claimed City have the characters to beat the drop.
Pitman struck with
only his second touch of the game, but the Robins are showing real relegation
form and have won only once in thirteen outings.
Striker Pitman came on
in the 72nd minute and two minutes later fed winger Albert Adomah on the right
before firing in the return pass from twenty yards for his seventh goal of the
campaign.
Derby were in full
control before Pitman's introduction and Scotland international Craig Bryson,
25, had opened the scoring in the 20th minute.
Fellow central
midfielder Jeff Hendrick sent over a low cross from the right and Bryson
casually tapped in his fifth goal of the season from eight yards.
But Derby went looking
for the win after Pitman's equaliser and City keeper Dean Gerken needed to be
alert.
With twelve minutes
remaining striker Theo Robinson forced Gerken to make a save from a low shot.
One minute later
Gerken palmed away a shot from Steve Davies and then with three minutes left
the City stopper was forced to beat away a drive from Hendrick.
Derby could have
stretched their first half lead.
In the 31st minute,
but Steve Davies's header was ruled offside following winger Ben Davies's free
kick.
And Bryson nearly
added to his opener in the first period, but curled a shot just wide of the
post after another Ben Davies free kick had been half cleared by the City
defence.
Pitman is City's
leading scoring with seven goals in only ten starts, but has been a regular in
the dugout and said:
"You need to stay
positive and hope that when you come on you get the chance to make an impact
and that's how it turned out."
And the hotshot
revealed:
"Everyone's ready
to stand up and be counted and there's no-one in our team or dressing room who
doesn't want to play. We're all sticking together and no-one's shying away.
It's been a scrap for
a few weeks now and we know the situation and we're all pulling in the same
direction - the manager, the coaching staff and the players.
It's probably easier
for a forward to show that he's standing up to be counted by scoring, but
people don't notice a midfielder making a tackle or a defender making a last
ditch tackle."
Craig Bryson and Jeff
Hendrick bossed the midfield for most of the game and the duo linked up for
Derby's 20th minute opener.
Bryson tapped in
Hendrick's low cross for his fifth goal of the campaign, but manager Nigel Clough
admitted his thoughts were already turning to next season. He said:
"I don't think
there's been a realistic hope of the play-offs for some time. We're looking to
build on this momentum for next season. It's amazing how often you can carry
over form from one season to another despite a three month break.
City boss Derek
McInnes was relieved with the draw, but admitted:
"I think that
we've played a lot better this season and lost. It wasn't a performance where
we were anywhere near our best. It was one highlight of quality that got us a
point.
We didn't ask enough
questions of Derby who had a lot of energy in midfield, but the players are
honest enough to admit they can do better than that."
My clippings from Sunday (top) and Monday
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