Gifton Noel-Williams was given the nod up front after fears he may be tired after the birth of his sixth child late on Friday night. Lewis Neal came back into the side as expected to replace Karl Henry who dropped to the bench. After being unavailable for two matches, Chris Barker was expected to return to the side but he was a strange omission from the squad and what a master stroke it turned out to be as his replacement Hall turned match winner.
Hall only had two league goals to his name and was yet to score before last nights match so when the ball dropped to him in the area in the 92nd minute, you could not be blamed for being a little surprised to see him volley superbly into the net.
City went into the match in high spirits after the weekend victory whilst the Rams were left reeling after a 4-2 defeat at home to Crewe on Saturday. Add a touch of Midlans rivalry and a above average crowd and the match offered all the ingredients for disappointment.
And for much of the match it seemed as though that would be the case. Stoke actually threatened straight from the kick-off with Darel Russell bursting through the Derby defence only to strike a tame shot at goal that was easily dealt with. After this initial excitement though, it became obvious that the Stoke players were tired whilst the opposition were applying the sort of pressure off the ball that we have become so accustomed to seeing the Potters use.
Not only this but they looked better on the ball whilst City were resorting to hitting long balls up the field that rarely found a home shirt. However, despite the lack of ideas going forward, it must be noted that the defence once again looked solid and restricted Derby to only a couple of long range efforts until the 40th minute. Adam Bolder should really have given the Rams a deserved half time lead but he ballooned over in embarrassing fashion to give City a let off.
The interval could not have come quicker for Tony Pulis and he changed things around to push for the victory. Lewis Neal made way for Carl Asaba as City reverted to 4-3-3. This did even the balance of play as the Potters gained more of the possession but still lacked any cutting edge even with the fresh legs.
Then came a bizarre passage of play after 65 minutes. Gerry Taggart headed down a Dave Brammer corner and Ade Akinbiyi scrambled in before embarking on a sprint down the field to celebrate with the following 8 City players. However as cheers were still reverberating around the ground, Derby were racing up field with only John Halls in pursuit as it became apparant the 'goal' had not stood. Now, Derby fans were sent wild as Bolder scored for them but their goal was too disallowed.
This left the whole ground wondering what had gone on with Premiership referee Neale Barry later explaining that City's goal was ruled out for an infringement on the goalkeeper. Whether he then showed pity on the Potters after seeing Derby score a seemingly good goal it will never be known but he claimed that the quick free kick taken by the visitors did not leave the 18-yard-box before another player received.
It is hard to say exactly what went on during all this but it did of course mean that City were still chasing a winning goal as Derby had become seemingly content with a point as the game progressed. Stoke did finish strongly and pushed forward in numbers but it seemed as though they would have to settle with a draw when the 90 minutes plus the further two for stoppages were up.
Then up stepped Marcus Hall to send the home fans into oblivion and the travelling fans home no doubt feeling rather sorry for themselves.