Derby County’s FA Cup Third Round opponents will be revealed tonight as Premier League and Sky Bet Championship clubs enter football’s oldest club competition.
The Rams have enjoyed success in four out of the last five seasons in the opening round, and we took a closer look at those games, including a superb comeback against top-tier opposition last term…
2016/17 – West Bromwich Albion 1-2 Derby County
Starting XI: Carson; Baird, Keogh, Shackell, Hanson (Pearce, 82’); Bryson (Vernam, 88), de Sart, Johnson; Ince, Bent, Camara (Vydra, 86’).
Scorers – West Brom: Phillips 35’ | Derby: Bent 51’, Ince 54’
The Rams fell behind at the Hawthorns but Steve McClaren’s side responded with two goals that were more than worthy of the occasion.
All three goals in the game came from outside the penalty area, with Matt Phillips giving the home side the lead with a curling effort in the first half.
Derby responded after the break, first through Darren Bent’s superb strike, before Tom Ince bamboozled Boaz Myhill with a perfect long-range free-kick that flew past the wall and into the bottom corner to send the Rams to the Fourth Round.
2015/16 – Hartlepool United 1-2 Derby County
Starting XI: Mitchell; Baird, Pearce, Buxton, Warnock; Bryson (Butterfield, 66’), Hanson (Russell, 46’), Shotton; Blackman (Weimann, 76’), Bent, Camara.
Scorers – Hartlepool: Gray 61’ | Derby: Butterfield 67’, Bent 85’
Hartlepool were struggling in League Two when Derby travelled to Victoria Park in January 2016, but they took the lead through an acrobatic volley by Jake Gray on the hour mark.
Paul Clement’s side had to react and Jacob Butterfield drew the Rams level just six minutes later with a powerful shot from distance.
Darren Bent forced a brilliant save late on with a diving header, but he wasn’t to be denied on 85 minutes as he finished high past Trevor Carson to make it 2-1 and prevent a replay.
2014/15 – Derby County 1-0 Southport
Starting XI: Roos; Shotton (Russell, 63’), Keogh, Buxton, Naylor; Coutts, Mascarell, Bryson; Dawkins, Best (Martin, 63’), Ward (Ibe, 62’).
Scorer – Martin 90+3’ (pen)
The Rams had to wait until added time to secure their passage to the Fourth Round in 2015, as non-league Southport produced a stubborn performance.
Derby dominated in terms of possession (64%-36%) and shots (23-4), but they couldn’t break down the Conference side inside 90 minutes.
Johnny Russell came off the bench and was brought down three minutes into stoppage time, with Chris Martin stepping up to slot home from 12 yards and secure a narrow victory.
2013/14 – Derby County 0-2 Chelsea
Starting XI: Grant; Wisdom, Buxton, Keane, Forsyth; Hendrick, Eustace (Bennett, 70’), Hughes; Dawkins (Bailey, 83’), Martin, Ward (Sammon, 69’).
Scorers – Mikel 66’, Oscar 71’
The Rams came up against Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea in the Third Round back in 2014, and McClaren’s side held firm until the 66th minute.
John Obi Mikel broke the deadlock with a header from Willian’s free-kick, before Oscar doubled the lead five minutes later to end any hopes of an upset.
The Derby fans certainly enjoyed the last 20 minutes as then 17-year-old Mason Bennett was introduced from the bench, with the winger causing a series of problems for legendary full-back Ashley Cole during his short cameo.
2012/13 – Derby County 5-0 Tranmere Rovers
Starting XI: Legzdins; Brayford, O’Brien, Keogh, Roberts (Freeman, 74’); Hughes, Coutts (Doyle, 79’), Hendrick; Jacobs, Sammon, Davies (Bennett, 84’).
Scorers – Davies 42’, Sammon 54’, Brayford 63’, Hendrick 72’, Bennett 87’
Bennett shone in the FA Cup the year before his exciting appearance against Chelsea, as he became the youngest scorer in Derby’s history with his first goal for the club against Tranmere.
Rovers were leading League One at the time but the Rams were dominant, and they led at half-time thanks to Ben Davies’ opener.
Goals from Conor Sammon, John Brayford and Jeff Hendrick followed, before substitute Bennett wrote his name into the history books with his first career goal as the clock ran down.