David Nugent was well below his best as Derby County snatched a 2-2 draw with Leeds United in the Championship at Pride Park.
We are heading into the time of year that generally has Derby County fans waking up in cold sweats.
The Rams have thrown away their own promotion prospects time and time again in the spring and, after the 2-2 draw with Leeds United on Wednesday night, supporters are fearing that history is about to repeat itself once again.
Gary Rowett’s side looked a good bet for automatic promotion not long ago, but a run of one win in six now leaves Derby fourth, five points adrift of Cardiff City in that coveted second place.
While Kasey Palmer was the hero, snatching a last-gasp equaliser to avoid a damaging home defeat, the fans were far less complementary towards David Nugent.
The 32-year-old striker has always had a habit of blowing hot and cold and Wednesday was certainly one of his off days. Nugent was infuriatingly wasteful in front of goal, hitting the target with just one of his four shots and the stadium must have breathed a sigh of relief when he was replaced with 20 minutes remaining.
Nugent can bring class, vision and subtlety to the forward line but the stat that matters points out that he has scored six goals in 27 Championship games this season.
With automatic promotion slipping away, Derby will be praying that Nugent can find some form sooner rather than later.
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