Keogh sees reasons to be positive as Irish eye Welsh scalp
DEFENDER TAKES HEART FROM DRAW WITH DANES
DERBY County sit in the bottom half of the Championship when it comes to keeping clean sheets.
Their position is 15th, having managed to shut out the opposition in three of 12 League games.
The clean sheets have all come at Pride Park Stadium.
They beat both Ipswich Town and Preston North End 2-0 in consecutive home games and drew 0-0 with Blackburn Rovers.
The importance of a clean sheet has been highlighted in Derby’s recent run of results.
Wins and goals have been in short supply in the past six League games.
Derby have won only one and they have scored five goals in the six matches.
Three of those goals came in the one win - 3-1 at home against Brentford - which means only two goals were scored in the other five games.
Those five games have been tight affairs and contained fine lines.
Two have ended in 1-0 defeats, at Rotherham United and Bolton Wanderers. There have been 1-1 draws against Norwich City and Queens Park Rangers and the goalless draw at home to Blackburn.
Keeping a clean sheet on the road would be a big hurdle for Derby to clear.
After facing Sheffield United at home this coming Saturday, the Rams have tough-looking away games against West Bromwich Albion and Middlesbrough. What a lift it would give the team to shut out one or both of those teams on their own patch.
Middlesbrough top the table of clean sheets with eight in their 12 League fixtures.
They are followed by Swansea City (six), Blackburn Rovers (five) and Leeds United (five).
Sheffield United, up next for Derby, have recorded three clean sheets.
The only team not to have recorded a clean sheet in the Championship this season is Sheffield Wednesday. DERBY County defender Richard Keogh has urged the Republic of Ireland to build on their performance against Denmark when they face Wales tonight.
Keogh helped Ireland to a goalless draw against the Danes in the UEFA Nations League in Dublin on Saturday.
Ireland now tackle Wales at the Aviva Stadium in the same competition, with last month’s 4-1 defeat at the hands of Ryan Giggs’ team still fresh in their minds.
Keogh, who played in a 1-1 friendly draw in Poland five days after the debacle in Cardiff, said: “We know it’s going to be another tough game. We didn’t have a great result there (in Cardiff) but after the Poland performance and this performance (against Denmark), I think there’s a lot to build on.
“We’ll recover and we know we’ve got to have another big effort on Tuesday night. They’ll obviously come here to try to win the game but we’re at home so we’ve got to make sure we make the atmosphere like it was tonight and we’ve got to get around them.
“We’ve got to put them under pressure a bit and have more moments like we did tonight towards the end. We’re looking forward to the game.”
Looking back at the draw with Denmark, Keogh said: “We knew what threat they posed but I think a draw was probably a fair result.
“We had a couple of chances, they obviously hit the post and had one cleared off the line, but for all the possession they had I don’t think they tested (keeper) Darren (Randolph) too much. On another day we could have nicked it.
“A clean sheet is a real positive for us. It’s a good base for us to move forward.”
Keogh wore the captain’s armband against Denmark.
“It’s the biggest honour I’ve ever had in my career, I’ve said that before,” Keogh added.
“If you’d have said to me when I was a young boy that I’d captain my country, I wouldn’t have believed you. To do it four times, and for the manager to put that trust in me, is a big thing for me.”