Opinion: Player Ratings Vs. Derby County

Birmingham City once again played out an entertaining draw when they took on Derby County on Friday evening.

The visitors enjoyed the majority of possession throughout the game, but I was however impressed with how the side dealt with it.

Blues took the lead on the stroke of half time thanks to a Stephen Gleeson shot which was heavily deflected. The strike came from all of 35 yards and struck the body of Chris Baird which diverted it past Scott Carson in the County net.

In the second half, the Rams continued their dominance and they were rewarded heading into the last 20 minutes of the game.

Tom Ince, who was Sky Sports MOTM, chopped the ball back with a beautiful piece of skill. He played the ball into Johnny Russell who smashed the ball over Tomasz Kuszczak in goal.

Moments later former Villa striker Darren Bent hit the bar with a looping header which turned out to be the best chance after the two goals had gone in.

Below are my player ratings based on how I thought each individual performed during the 1-1 draw against Paul Clement`s side.

Kuszczak 7- Still has butterfingers but he made some wonderful saves to ensure we got a point.

Caddis 6- Looked good going forward but his final ball was poor. Defensively strong again.

Morrison 7- Handled the threat of Bent and Martin very well but once again didn`t look match fit to me.

Spector 8- My MOTM! Thought he dealt with everything that came into the box and handled the pressure very well. Was never in doubt in the game.

Grounds 6- Struggled against a busy Tom Ince and Johnny Russell and failed to break going forward like he usually does.

Kieftenbeld 7- Yet again another strong performance by the summer signing. Looking like a bargain at the moment.

Gleeson 8- Could have been my MOTM but was beaten to it by Spector. His fierce shot opened the scoring with the help of a deflection and he looked solid in the heart of the midfield.

Cotterill 5- Poor game from the Welshman. His passing wasn`t on point and despite the one cross in the first half, his delivery was poor.

Toral 6- Looked strong in the CAM role but failed to really create anything and missed a sitter in the second half.

Gray 6- One of his better performances this season but still feel there is a lot more to come from the 19 year old.

Donaldson 7- Ran for the entire game once again! He is one of the most valuable players to the team and without him, we wouldn`t have much of a counter attack. Still missing a goal though!

Subs:

Shinnie 6- Looked busy when he came on.

Maghoma 5- Failed to produce anything to note.

Blues fans, do you agree with my opinions and ratings? Were you at the game? What were your thoughts on the game and what would you rate the players? Let us know in the comment section down below!