Derby’s hard fought point on Tuesday against Burnley meant the Rams took plenty of positives down to Portsmouth this weekend.
As expected a tense and fiery atmosphere circled around Fratton Park before kick-off, with neither side guaranteed Championship survival for next season just yet.
The atmosphere that was probably at 75% electricity before kick-off, turned up way past 100 only five minutes into the game, as Rams goalkeeper Jacob Zetterstrom went from zero to hero, first giving away a penalty, and then saving the resulting spot kick in front of a sold out Derby away following.
Rams fans roared in jubilation as Zetterstrom dived down to his left and tipped Colby Bishop’s penalty away, whilst home fans put their heads in their hands.
The Championship once again proving to be truly box office stuff, and there was still 85 minutes left to play!
The five yellow cards picked up between both teams in the first half tells you all you need to know about the cauldron of emotion Fratton Park had become in the opening stages.
The consensus from the away end, and across social media at half-time was that Derby would be happy to take a point from this one.
Although Pompey were slightly more in control heading into the break, it was already becoming apparent that this contest would be decided by the finest of margins.
If the first half seemed nerve racking, the second half was going to raise the blood pressure of both sets of supporters even more.
The contest truly came alive just inside the 70th minute.
Veteran Craig Forsyth has been excellent for Derby in the last few weeks, continuing to defy expectations and produce game changing performances week in week out.
36 years old, 16 managers, 318 appearances, and a testimonial later, Fozzy continues to leave everything out on the pitch for Derby in every game he plays.
As Derby prayed for an opening, the Scot recycled his own long throw and provided an assist for Rams’ top scorer Jerry Yates.
Forsyth crossed, Yates rose, the net bulged, and the away end? Bedlam.
As Derby fans had just about picked themselves up from the stairwell following the celebrations, and those at home had just sat back down after jumping out of their seats, Pompey equalised.
Poor defending at the front post from a corner saw Rob Atkinson get Portsmouth back into it.
Derby fans couldn’t quite believe it had taken little over a minute for all their side’s hard work to come undone. From jubilation, to frustration, a familiar feeling for the Rams this season.
One thing Derby have got much better at under John Eustace is making sure they are never down and out.
Eustace rallied his troops, and Ebou Adams showed his leadership qualities, gesturing to the rest of his team that Derby were ready to go again and continue to battle. The Rams weren’t ready to roll over.
Atkinson this time chose to go from hero to zero. Kayden Jackson spun a tricky to defend ball into the box and Atkinson could only deflect the cross past his own goalkeeper to put Derby back into the lead, just four minutes after Pompey had drawn level.
Remember when I said bedlam? Try raptures.
Heading into stoppage time the Derby faithful were in fine voice, chants of “We are Derby County and we are staying up” rung out around Fratton Park before one last twist would deny them from taking all three points back up to the East Midlands.
This game was all about Atkinson, a booking, a goal, an own goal, and now another goal.
A 91st-minute equaliser from a long ball forward sent the Pompey crowd wild, with Rams fans stunned to silence at the other end, and once again left very disappointed by more dubious defending.
Adams collapsed to the floor, Nat Phillips hammered his fist into the ground, and fans stood with their hands behind their heads as a crucial three points had slipped out of Derby’s grasp in the dying embers, not for the first time this season.
The full time whistle went with a complete mixture of emotions amongst Derby supporters, players, and staff.
Despite the draw feeling more like a loss due to the last minute drama, the Rams battled well to earn a point.
Pompey, would’ve felt hard done by to take nothing from the game, and Derby perhaps would’ve felt rather fortunate to take all three points.
A point was overall the fairest result for both sides, but after coming so close to a crucial victory, you can’t help but feel slightly deflated to see two points slip away so late on, particularly when conceding a goal that felt totally avoidable.
Despite this though, the overriding emotion from the majority of the Derby faithful was pride, with no complaints about how much effort and heart their side had put in to come away with something from the game.
