In the midst of all the challenges that 2022 brought with it, Derby County showed, on more than one occasion, that it’s possible to find a great amount of strength in adversity.
A 21-point deduction towards the end of 2021 didn’t stop the Rams from putting up the bravest of fights to try and stay in the Sky Bet Championship and despite ultimately falling short, they provided some memorable moments on the pitch that will live long in the memory.
And of course this season has already provided plenty of high moments too, a new era with a new owner at the helm and a new management team looking to steer the club to a brighter future.
dcfc.co.uk have picked out six of the best games from 2022 for you to relive in all their glory.
Derby County 2-0 Sheffield United (15th January)
By the time we’d entered January of 2022, the Rams had already had 21 points docked and yet were incredibly still in with a shot of Championship survival.
Those hopes were boosted following their first league game of 2022 at Pride Park Stadium thanks to a massive 2-0 win over promotion hopefuls Sheffield United.
Having lost Phil Jagielka and Graeme Shinnie from the squad 24 hours prior to kick-off, most weren’t giving the Rams a chance going into the fixture and they once again used that as fuel and defied the odds.
A superb second-half brace from Tom Lawrence saw Wayne Rooney’s side run out 2-0 winners and although the club’s future remained up in the air, it was a result that brought huge smiles to the faces in the heart of a difficult January.
Derby County 2-2 Birmingham City (30th January)
The end of January brought with it one of the most memorable games in recent memory. Not so much because of the result, but for all that came with it.
Prior to the home match against Birmingham City, thousands of fans marched from Market Place to Pride Park as part of the ‘Save Derby County’ campaign.
Incredible footage showed the sea of Rams making their way towards what was a sell-out stadium for the Sky Bet Championship clash in front of the Sky Sports cameras.
And whilst the three points couldn’t be recorded on the day, the ending to the game was fitting of what this team had been showing all season.
Derby were 2-0 down going into the final five minutes, but a goal from Luke Plange gave the Rams hope before Krystian Bielik, a year to the day he suffered a serious long-term knee injury, rose highest to sensationally score an acrobatic and dramatic 96th minute equaliser and send Pride Park into pure pandemonium.
Derby County 2-1 Fulham (15th April)
Similar to the Sheffield United game back in January, this was another one that the Rams were given little to no chance in and with this one, it was arguably even less.
A win for Fulham would have seen them promoted at Pride Park, again in front of the Sky Sports cameras, and after they took the lead after 20 minutes, many expected the rest to be routine.
However, the Rams had no interest in following the script and after Plange had equalised early in the second-half to round off a superb team move, the game was well and truly on.
After Aleksandar Mitrovic then had a goal disallowed, Fulham defender Tosin Adarabioyo poked Lawrence's cross-shot past his own goalkeeper to complete the turnaround and incredibly keep Derby’s hopes of staying up alive.
Derby County 1-0 Oxford United (30th July)
The end of July brought with it the first game as a third-tier side for over 35-years but it wasn’t a sad occasion, it was the complete opposite - it was a day of celebration.
It was the first competitive match since the club had exited administration earlier in the month and the first game under the new ownership of lifelong Derby County fan, David Clowes.
An incredible 31,053 packed inside Pride Park Stadium for a game in the third tier of English football and they were rewarded with the perfect end to the perfect day thanks to a late Conor Hourihane goal.
The Rams struggled to make the breakthrough despite a largely dominant performance before up popped Hourihane, one of the club’s 14 summer signings, to fire home in the final 10 minutes and get the season off to the best possible start.
Accrington Stanley 0-3 Derby County (15th October)
The victory at Accrington Stanley was the second successive victory on the road for the Rams under new Head Coach Paul Warne, but it was a crazy two minute spell in the first-half that will live longer in the memory than the result itself.
After William Osula had given Derby the lead, the home team were awarded not one but two opportunities to level things up from the penalty spot within a minute of each other.
Joe Wildsmith got down to his right to keep the first attempt out before the second was dragged wide to the jubilation of the Rams fans.
Skipper Curtis Davies lumped the ball up field following the second penalty and Osula duly latched onto the end of it before firing a powerful strike into the back of the net, sending the travelling army of Derby fans into a mixture of ecstasy and disbelief as to what they had just witnessed.
Winger Tom Barkhuizen wrapped the game up in a much less dramatic second-half as Warne’s men ran out 3-0 winners.
Derby County 4-2 Bristol Rovers (29th October)
Dramatic first-halves seemed to becoming a regular occurrence for the Rams under Warne and the game against Bristol Rovers at the end of October was no different.
Six goals were scored in the game with all six coming in the first period, including a first career hat-trick for David McGoldrick.
A McGoldrick brace either side of a James Collins strike put the Rams in cruise control before half-an-hour had been played before Bobby Thomas gave the visitors hope with their first attempt on target.
McGoldrick then had his third and first ever career hat-trick before the 40-minute mark thanks to a sublime solo goal that saw him nick the ball on the byline before firing an exquisite strike in from the tightest of angles.
Anthony Evans scored a penalty in first-half stoppage time to half the deficit and again give the visitors hope but that was all she wrote as the Rams professionally managed the game after the break to ensure Warne picked up his first home win as Head Coach of Derby County.
Here's to many exciting games for Derby County in 2023!
