By Eddie Sanders (Derby County supporter)
Derby County 1-2 Reading – Saturday, 14 February 2015
Jesse joined Derby County at the start of February but spent the first couple of weeks sitting on the bench as an unused substitute. He finally made his debut for The Rams in the FA Cup 5th Round tie at home to Reading and played the full 90 minutes. During the opening exchanges Jesse made several runs, one of which culminating with a delightful through-ball to Craig Bryson who narrowly missed the target. Lingard was lively throughout, and was unlucky not to mark his debut with a goal.
Eddie Sanders Marks – 6/10
Rotherham United 3-3 Derby County – Tuesday, 17 February 2015
The young Manchester United starlet was instrumental in helping Derby to grab a point in a late comeback at Rotherham. As part of a triple-substitution with The Rams on the wrong end of a 3-1 scoreline, Lingard’s first contribution brought only frustration as he scuffed a chance wide in the crowded penalty area only seconds after coming on. Jesse was then moved out wide on the left by Steve McClaren, and he tormented the full-back for the rest of the game. One run saw him dribble past three defenders before he found Darren Bent who calmly slotted home the equaliser.
ES Marks – 7/10
Derby County 3-2 Sheffield Wednesday – Saturday, 21 February 2015
When Sheffield Wednesday came to town, Jesse made another half-hour cameo appearance as Derby sought to overcome a 2-1 deficit. His first contribution was a mazy dribble past several Wednesday defenders, which seems to be becoming his trademark. His resultant strike on goal brought a great save from Westwood, but from the resultant corner The Rams equalised through local legend Jake Buxton. The remainder of the game, which Derby eventually won 3-2, saw Jesse and Tom Ince tear Wednesday apart time and time again.
ES Marks – 7/10
Derby County 2-0 Charlton Athletic – Tuesday, 24 February 2015
Charlton at home saw another start from Lingard, along with his first Derby goal. A storming start saw Derby 2-0 to the good after just 17 minutes, and it was Jesse who notched up the second with a neat finish following good work by Irishman Jeff Hendrick. Jesse was withdrawn after 69 minutes with the home side in cruise-control mode.
ES Marks – 7/10
Fulham 2-0 Derby County – Saturday, 28 February 2015
The final match of the month, on the last day of February, saw Derby slump to a listless defeat to Fulham at Craven Cottage. Jesse started but was withdrawn at half time with the home side 2 goals to the good. Lingard did no better and no worse than anybody else on Derby’s side in what was as poor a performance as we have seen from The Rams this season.
ES Marks – 4/10
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