It is a cruel game for sure !

It has been said again and again about the beautiful game of football, but never before in my life as a football fan have I seen those words materializing before my eyes like Derby's recent performances.
The newly promoted "Rams " had a bad start to their season, nobody even thought they would stay up at the end of the season and manager Billy Davies was sacked in November and Pride Park welcomed Paul Jewell - a manager who had helped bottom sides survive twice in the past. And pride , that was so far absent in Derby's game came back with a bang !
In a home match against the mighty Liverpool in December, Jewell's team fought really hard and it almost looked like Derby was good enough for a point and then in the dying moments of the game, came Steven Gerrard running 85 yards from his own half and slid in a pass to Benayoun who cut the ball in to Torres whose first time shot was parried by the rookie Derby keeper Price and the Derby defender McEvelly cleared the ball only to watch in agony as Gerrard nudged the ball home from close range ! It is a cruel game, it really is !

Weeks later, at Pride Park they came up against Blackburn who were struggling to find a win and put up a fighting performance.Kelly put them ahead and then they were awarded a penalty. But Steve Howard missed it and atraight after the clearance from Brad Friedel, at the other end Roque SantaCruz scored.And then David Bentley finished the Rams off with a well taken goal. It is a cruel game,it really is !

Then The Rams visited Reebok stadium where even "The Big Four" struggles to find a result and again Jewell's team fought hard but a stoppage-time goal from Stelios Giannakopoulos killed them off after they had missed bucket-full of chances ! The first chance fell to Fagan in the opening minutes, the former Hull player racing clear along the left after Jay McEveley's pass and forcing Jussi Jaaskelainen to narrow the angle before blocking. Forty-three seconds into stoppage time, Stelios Giannakpolous scored the definitive route-one goal to seal victory for Bolton over Derby. A long clearance by goalkeeper Jussi Jasskelainen caught the visiting centre-backs in dreamland and allowed the Greek international to dart between them, round keeper Lewis Price and head it into the unguarded net.It is a cruel game, it really is !