Derby County have set up a FA Cup fourth round clash with Preston after beating Sheffield Wednesday 4-2 on penalties.
Rams hold their nerve in shoot-out win
Derby County have set up a FA Cup fourth round clash with Preston after beating Sheffield Wednesday 4-2 on penalties at Hillsborough.
Lewis Price was the hero for the visitors saving from Kenny Lunt and Glenn Whelan as Derby successfully converted all of their penalties.
Wednesday took the lead against the run of play on 10 minutes when a neat move down the right resulted in Lee Bullen's teasing cross being met with aplomb by the advancing Steve Watson.
Derby responded after the break in clinical fashion. With 49 minutes gone Stephen Pearson picked up the ball in the middle of the park and his pin-point pass sent through Kenny Miller to score with a precise finish.
In a scrappy second half which included six bookings neither side could grab the initiative. Miller was guilty of missing the best chance to win it in the 90th minute when he put his close range header over the bar.
The result was made all the more credible by the fact the former Wigan and Wednesday boss was unable to call upon all five of his January signings as Danny Mills and Robbie Savage were both sidelined and Hossam Ghaly, Laurent Robert and Emanuel Villa were all ineligible.
Bright start
The Rams, rooted to the foot of the Premier League, nonetheless started brightly and could have gone ahead inside the opening two minutes.
Gary Teale's short corner allowed Stephen Pearson to cross from the left flank and Claude Davis cushioned a downward header into the path of Lewin Nyatanga, but the Wales international could only volley over from 12 yards out. Wednesday goalkeeper Lee Grant was then required to make a trio of outstanding saves.
He first kept out a well-struck Miller drive from an acute angle before denying Craig Fagan and Pearson in the same attack.
Grant's heroics proved all the more telling as the home side took the lead after nine minutes with their first attack of the game.
Jermaine Johnson was afforded too much time and space on the right wing and his cross was steered past Price by the outstretched Watson from just inside the penalty area.
The lively Johnson was causing Derby's defence no end of problems, cutting in from the right before curling an effort into the side-netting from the edge of the penalty area.
Miller then curled over from 20 yards out after good link up play with Pearson while Tommy Spurr had a deflected shot well saved by Price minutes later.
Three minutes before the interval, Jewell hauled off the ineffective Giles Barnes and introduced Eddie Lewis and the former Wednesday manager will have been far from impressed by the youngster's reaction as he stormed down the tunnel.
Leveller
Within two minutes of the restart the visitors, who had been so wasteful in attack in the opening 45 minutes, hauled themselves level courtesy of a fine finish from Miller.
Captain Andy Todd picked out Pearson and his weighted pass allowed Miller to side-foot the ball into Grant's left-hand corner from the edge of the area.
Miller's leveller galvanised Derby and Dean Leacock headed a teasing Lewis corner agonisingly over after 51 minutes.
With a minute left Marc Edworthy hesitated on the edge of the penalty and Leon Clarke seized on his weak header to pick out the unmarked Burton. The Jamaica international took a touch before unleashing a soaring drive which Price somehow managed to tip over.
Miller headed Lewis' near-post cross over deep into stoppage-time as the tie went into extra-time.
Bizarrely, referee Foy was forced to retire injured after damaging his abductor muscle and fourth official Graham Laws stepped in to deputise.
Clarke went close twice in extra-time but after the sides had cancelled each other out for 180 minutes it seemed inevitable the tie would be settled on penalties.
Price saved from Glenn Whelan and Lunt while Miller, Lewis and Robert Earnshaw put Derby 3-1 up as Tudgay notched for Wednesday.
Burton made it 3-2 and it was left to Fagan to slot home the decisive spot-kick
and set up a fourth-round home tie against Preston.
