Rory Delap holds the record for scoring Derby County’s quickest-ever goal in the Premier League – but the game which saw him go into the record books provided the former Republic of Ireland international with contrasting fortunes.
Derby played out a thrilling 4-4 draw at Bradford City on Good Friday in April 2000 as they fought, along with the Bantams, to retain top-flight status.
Seven goals in the opening 44 minutes, the first two from Derby, and a first-half hat-trick for Bradford striker Dean Windass set the tone for an action-packed, incident-laden encounter.
Incredibly, Derby scored straight from the kick-off with just 23 seconds on the watch as Delap scored from close range.
A Branko Strupar free-kick had the Rams two goals to the good, but Windass hit a double to haul the hosts level before Delap saw red for a professional foul on Robbie Blake in the penalty area which resulted in Peter Beagrie scoring from the spot to turn the game on its head.
A penalty from Craig Burley made it 3-3 before Windass completed his hat-trick before half-time with a low strike to put the home side 4-3 to the good.
The second half was somewhat low key compared to the opening 45 minutes and a penalty from Burley levelled the scoreline once more at 4-4.
Derby could even have won it, but Burley had another penalty saved by Matt Clarke in the Bradford goal.
While it’s impossible to identify if the goal Delap scored at the time was the quickest in club history, it certainly is recorded as Derby’s quickest in the highest level since the formation of the Premier League.
Since then, the only player to score a goal quicker in a game for the Rams was Craig Bryson inside 19 seconds in a 2-1 home win over Sheffield United in October 2018.
Going back to the eight-goal thriller almost 20 years ago, Delap admits he was forced to watch the dramatic events of the afternoon unfold from a unique vantage point.
“I got the early goal and it was a great start for us,” Delap, who is now 43 and first-team coach at Stoke City, told RamsTV Meets during the 2017/18 season.
“Then it went a bit sour for me. I pulled Robbie Blake down in the box, he still managed to score, but the Referee ruled the goal out and gave a red card and a penalty instead.
“It was a crazy game and I had to watch it out of a little window in the dressing room. It was action-packed and I guess I played my part, although not in the way I wanted!
“The noise the Derby fans made that day was incredible and it was crazy watching everything unfold; it was bizarre.”
How Delap, a versatile performer who could play in defence or midfield, came to join Derby is a story in itself.
He grew up in Cumbria and came through the youth ranks at Carlisle United alongside the likes of Matt Jansen and Scott Dobie who, like Delap, went on to play in the Premier League.
By the late 1990s, he was established in Carlisle’s first-team and helped guide the team to promotion from Division Three in 1997.
His performances weren’t going unnoticed and Jim Smith moved to bring Delap to Derby in February 1998 after he had impressed during a trial period.
“I had nothing to lose; I wanted to give it a go,” Delap recalled.
“I came down beforehand and trained with the first-team every day, which was a brilliant experience for me.
“I felt I did okay and then a few months later I was told that Derby had made a bid and it had been accepted. I couldn’t believe it was happening and I was almost waiting for something to go wrong.”
But nothing did go wrong. Delap knew from his initial conversations with the Bald Eagle that he wasn’t moving to Pride Park Stadium to make up the numbers.
No sooner had he joined the Rams, for a fee of just £200,000, he was thrown into the starting line-up.
From playing in a 4-1 trouncing at Burnley in the EFL Trophy on 3rd February, Delap was in the Derby side which ran out 2-1 winners at Everton in the Premier League just 11 days later.
Delap played his part too in the move which saw Paulo Wanchope score the winning goal at Goodison Park.
He went on to feature in the 12 following games as the Rams finished ninth in the table.
“I spoke to Jim and straight away I knew it was for me,” Delap admitted.
“He said that he would give me an opportunity, not just one game but a run in the side, so it was down to me.
“Jim was true to his word and in the second game I was at the club, against Everton, I was in.
“Dean Yates suffered an injury in the game beforehand, so Gary Rowett moved from wing-back to central defence and I managed to come into the side. Both Gary and Lee Carsley made the transition really easy to be honest.
“I played until the end of the season and that time holds special memories. There was probably pressure, to keep it all going, but I enjoyed every second.”
He added: “I had a nightmare in the first ten minutes or so at Everton; I knew I needed to sort myself out.
“I had a part in the second goal, so it was great to get my Derby career off to a winning start.”
Delap remained a key member of the squad in the years that followed at Derby, recording 113 appearances in total and netting 13 times.
He left the club in the summer of 2001 to join Southampton for a fee of £4 million and spent four and a half years on the South Coast, before moving to Sunderland for a short spell.
Delap then went on to make over 200 appearances for Stoke City between 2006 and 2013 and played a key role in their rise to the Premier League, before concluding his career at Burton Albion.
The former Republic of Ireland international has now moved into coaching and after working with Derby’s Under-23 and Under-18 sides in the Academy, he returned to Stoke in the summer of 2018 as part of Gary Rowett’s coaching team.
A committed and hard-working team player, many will remember Delap for his long throw-ins after they shot to prominence following Stoke's promotion to the Premier League.
Several goals were scored from his throw-ins and they became a key part of Stoke’s play under Tony Pulis.
Many will ask the question, why didn’t we see more of them at Derby?
Delap explained: “The long throw was used for the first time in Carlisle’s youth team. We were playing Liverpool and with a few minutes to go the score was 1-1.
“Someone was unmarked in the penalty area so I launched it in there, the ball was headed in and we won 2-1!
“It’s funny now how people from old clubs always say to me ‘why didn’t you use it when you were with us?’.
“It only really came to prominence while I was at Stoke because it was so effective. It probably helped I was in a team with giants, brave ones too, who stick they head on anything.
“I think I used it a few times at Derby when I played as a wing-back. We had quick forwards, so one would come short to draw someone out and I’d throw it down the line to get in behind.
“Sometimes late on if we were chasing the game then I’d throw the ball into the box, but I don’t remember any goals coming from it.”
He added: “Over the years I’ve been in labs, believe it or not, to see where the ability has come from. I think it’s a combination of strength and technique, if I’m being honest.”
Want to hear more from Rory Delap as he takes a trip down memory lane to look back on his playing career? Sit back, relax and watch the RamsTV Meets videos embedded within this article.
