March 21 2011

Darren Ambrose

Spring was in the air when Derby County came to SE25. Jamesey watched the Eagles draw 2-2.

It was the sort of beautiful weather in south London to blow the winter blues away and, with our consistently good home record, there was no reason not to feel optimistic for a result against the Rams.

I wasn't too disappointed with last week's 2-1 defeat at Loftus Road. QPR, as I write, are nine points clear at the top of the second division and, unless they are given a points deduction, look strong favourites to be playing Arsenal and Man U next season.

We have no reason to be ashamed of that result, what with our abysmal away record, and playing at the home of a top team in terrific form makes 2-1 look like an achievement rather than a cause for sorrow.

More of a cause for sorrow was the behaviour of a few of our "fans" who threw bottles and missiles at the Hoops keeper. Well that matter has been debated ad infinitum on the HOL message boards and, as some members have suggested, was quite insignificant compared with the maymem and bloodshed that some of we older hands lived through in the 70s and 80s.

But, of course, that is not really the point. We don't want to start drifting back to the days when women, children and unwarlike gentlemen wouldn't have set foot in a football ground, or anywhere near one for that matter, for all the Bovril in Burton-on-Trent.

So away supporters, please keep up your spirit and volume, but don't get the club in trouble. It does nobody any good.

This week, however, was very disappointing. A crowd of 14,686 turned out to see what we had reason to hope would be a victory against a team stuttering to find form and only five points above us in the table.

Indeed the opening Rams goal after only seven minutes stunned the home crowd and as the first half progressed we really should have had the game dead and buried by half time, especially after Dean Moxey's glorious equaliser meant that it was 1-1 when the first period ended.

The Rams improved a lot in the second half and what we thought might be the time for the coup de grace (or several of them, if that is possible) was running out.

Another long-distance strike of near-miraculous quality from County's Jamie Ward put them ahead again. Julian Speroni looked rather at fault from where I sit and it wasn't the only time during the game that he did not look like his old self. And neither did Nathaniel Clyne or Darren Ambrose who seem to be struggling with their form recently.

At least, the workhorse-warrior, Neil Danns looked near his old excellence again and, of course, got himself awarded an extremely late penalty which drew the game 2-2.

I am sure many of us had to avert our eyes when Ambrose stepped forward to take the spot-kick, with horrific memories of his miss against Reading, a miss which could have well cost us a victory.

Still the past is the past, and now we look forward to a break this weekend for the Euro internationals.

I always thought it was Sam Goldwyn who said "nostalgia is a thing of the past" but I can't find an attribution on the internet. A couple of short decades ago, we might have been looking forward to the likes of Ian Wright, Geoff Thomas, John Salako and Nigel Martyn running out in England shirts.

Derby County, too, have an illustrious past with two league championships in the 70s, amongst other achievements.

In 2011 we are both struggling near the bottom of the second division. C'est la vie, as they say over in Calais.

Email Jamesey with your comments to jevans3704@aol.com

In Depth Jamesey's Veteran View Index