Matchday Guide | Derby (H)

5 November 2023

Crewe Alexandra will turn attention to Emirates FA Cup action when Derby County visit Mornflake Stadium (Sunday, 2.45pm).

Lee Bell’s side will be looking to provide a first round upset against a talented League One opposition sure to bring a big following to South Cheshire.

The Opposition

Derby sit just outside the Play-Off positions in League One after accumulating 24 points so far this term.

The Rams, a huge club with even bigger expectations of escaping the third tier swiftly, demolished Northampton Town 4-0 in midweek thanks to goals from Max Bird (2), Conor Washington and Nathaniel Mendez-Laing.

The Gaffer

Paul Warne took charge of Derby in September 2022 after switching from Rotherham, where he had been gaffer for six years and won three promotions to The Championship.

Warne played almost 500 games as a player, with 261 in the colours of The Millers.

Fighting Talk

Lee Bell: "We’ve done our homework on how to stop them but really we have to concentrate on what we want to do with the football.”

Paul Warne: "They are doing really well so far; they are doing really good at set pieces and they are really expansive and brave with the ball."

Head-to-Head

The two sides have clashed 14 times with Derby winning six times. Crewe have won five meetings and the remaining three have been draws.

The last clash was a League Cup tie in 2010 which ended with a 1-0 win for The Railwaymen courtesy of a Shaun Barker own goal.

Match Officials

Scott Oldham will be the man in the middle. He will be assisted by Richard Woodward and Karl Buckley, while the fourth official will be Darren Drysdale.

How To Find Us

For details of how to get to Mornflake Stadium via rail or road, click HERE.

Tickets

Crewe v Derby Sunday, November 5 (2.45pm)
Adults	£20
Seniors (65+)	£15
17-19 Years	£15
12-16 Years	£8
11 and under	£5

Elsewhere in the FA Cup

Chesterfield v Portsmouth; Kidderminster Harriers v Fleetwood; Slough Town v Grimsby; Charlton v Cray Valley.

Can’t Make the Game?

The game will be screened live in the UK on ITVX.

Match Reports

Match Report | Derby 1 Crewe 3

14 November 2023

Match Report | Derby 1 Crewe 3

Railwaymen dump Rams out of cup
Rowe (2) opens his Alex account
Demetriou on target in stunning win

Crewe Alexandra produced a magnificent performance to knock Derby County out of the FA Cup at Pride Park.

After falling behind to Tom Barkhuizen’s third-minute opener The Railwaymen showed superb grit and determination to bounce back.

Aaron Rowe scored a superb brace in the first half as he became Crewe’s 14^th different scorer of the season.

And Mickey Demetriou headed his sixth of the campaign after the restart to give his side a cushion in the replay.

Lee Bell’s men executed the gameplan to perfection; defending stoutly and putting bodies on the line before hitting hard on the counter.

Roared on by around 800 travelling supporters they thoroughly deserved the victory which has earned a home tie against Bristol Rovers in round two.

Bell made three changes to the side that beat Notts County at the weekend. Connor O’Riordan was unavailable due to international commitments, while Conor Thomas and Shilow Tracey dropped to the bench.

Lewis Billington was recalled to defence; midfielder Charlie Colkett started for the first time this season, and wing-back Charlie Finney made his second start of the campaign.

Derby, who were also without a number of players including Nathaniel Mendez-Laing, hit the front on three minutes when Louie Sibley won the ball high up the pitch and teed up Barkhuizen for a simple finish.

But the response was emphatic. Rowe picked the ball up on the right and drifted inside before letting fly with a powerful left-footer that fizzed into the bottom corner.

Joe White’s direct free-kick brought a superb flying save from keeper Joe Wildsmith shortly afterwards, as The Railwaymen kept asking questions.

And on 21 minutes the visitors were ahead when Rowe again tried his luck from outside the area and a big deflection took the ball over Wildsmith and into the net.

A brilliant Crewe move, instigated by White, created space on the left for Finney and when Courtney Baker-Richardson met the cross with his head, Wildsmith made another superb save.

Keeper Harvey Davies made a smart reflex save to claw away a James Collins header as the Rams looked to hit back on 32 minutes.

Davies tipped a Max Bird strike onto the bar and held a Barkhuizen volley, and a big block from skipper Luke Offord helped keep the slender lead intact to the whistle.

Crewe managed the first 20 minutes of the second half expertly, with chances few and far between at either end.

And on 65 minutes it was 3-1. A flowing break down the right earned a corner and when White curled it in Demetriou met it with a crashing header which could not be stopped.

Baker-Richardson’s drive was saved by Wildsmith and Rowe blasted a free-kick into the wall as Crewe continued to look dangerous on the counter.

Sub Tracey had a great chance to seal it in the closing minutes but his low strike was repelled by the legs of the County keeper.

But it didn’t matter. Bell’s men had worn down the hosts, who had completely run out of ideas and belief.

And the scenes of celebration with the travelling supporters after the final whistle will live long in the memory.

Derby (4-1-4-1): Wildsmith; Wilson, Forsyth (Bradley, 84), Nelson, Cashin; Hourihane (Cox, 84); Barkhuizen, Smith (Waghorm, 66), Bird, Sibley (Ward, 59); Collins.

Subs not used: Vickers, Robinson, Brown, Fapetu, Weston.

Booked: Sibley

Crewe (3-4-3): Davies; Offord, Demetriou, Billington; Finney (Thomas, 52), White, Colkett (Tracey, 53), Cooney; Adebisi, Baker-Richardson, Rowe.

Subs not used: Booth, Agius, Nolan, Robinson.

Booked: Tracey, Baker-Richardson

Referee: Christopher Pollard.

Attendance:

Standings