Wild scenes at Pride Park
Krystian Bielik scored a dramatic last-minute equaliser for Derby County to equalise against Birmingham City on Sunday afternoon.
The away side took a two-goal lead after a first-half finish from debutant Lyle Taylor was followed by a near post strike from Scott Hogan, but the Rams refused to lie down and fought back tremendously to salvage a point.
Luke Plange cut the deficit in half three minutes from time, and with six minutes added on, Wayne Rooney’s men threw everything forward in their attempts to get something from the game and up stepped Bielik in the dying seconds.
The Poland International had his own story of his own, returning to the first-team for the first time – one year on from the day he suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury.
Looking like a 20-goal-a-season striker in their prime, Bielik produced an unbelievable overhead kick to snatch a point right at the death and take the Rams to within seven points of Reading, who are just outside of the relegation zone.
Unbelievable goal. Unbelievable scenes. 🔥
Derby County refuse to lie down and die 🐏 pic.twitter.com/vUp0QJAbbX
— FootballJOE (@FootballJOE) January 30, 2022
Bielik’s goal came at some cost however, as the former Arsenal defender appeared to injure himself and was seen holding his shoulder in the aftermath.
The game had a poignant feel about it in the build up, with Derby fans holding a mass march and protest in their bid to raise awareness of the club’s perilous financial troubles.
#dcfcfans pic.twitter.com/nAFEwCVK5N
— Henry Winter (@henrywinter) January 30, 2022
Talks are underway between administrators Quantama and the EFL – with the latter wanting proof of how they will be funded for the duration of the season.
More than 30,000 fans packed into a sold out Pride Park to show their support whilst the visiting Birmingham fans also protested against the ownership of their club.
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- Wayne Rooney reveals he turned down approach from Everton
- US investment firm makes formal offer for under-threat Derby County
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