No spot luck as Wayne feels pain
ANGRY Derby boss Wayne Rooney slammed referee Josh Smith after his side drew a blank.
The rampant Rams created a hatful of chances for victory but failed to find a winner.
And Rooney’s afternoon was especially frustrating given that his side were denied a penalty for a handball and also a foul on Festy Ebosele inside the box.
“Why are we not getting big decisions?” said Rooney, despite his side making it three league games unbeaten in their battle to overturn a 12-point deduction after going into administration.
“I’m sick of standing here every week complaining about officials not giving us anything.
“I thought there were two clear penalties.”
It was one-way traffic as the Rams forced the pace but Daniel Iversen, on loan from Leicester City, was Preston’s hero with a string of fine saves.
The keeper foiled Rams skipper Tom Lawrence and palmed away Ebosele’s point-blank strike as the hosts desperately clung on.
Preston boss Frankie McAvoy was left gutted as his misfiring side failed to triumph on an emotional day which saw the club pay tribute to their late owner, Trevor Hemmings, who died last week aged 86.
“I asked the players to win to give Mr Hemmings a good farewell, but that’s a real sickener for me because I’d have hoped we performed better,” said McAvoy.
“That’s what hurts me and disappoints me.”
PRESTON: Iversen 9; Hughes 6, Bauer 6, Storey 5 (Murphy 77th); Earl 5, Browne
6, Ledson 5 (Whiteman 63rd, 4), van den Berg 5; Johnson 4; Riis 5, Barkhuizen 5 (Sinclair 58th, 5)
DERBY: Allsop 6; Ebosele 6, Davies 6, Jagielka 6, Buchanan 6; Shinnie 6, Bird 6; Morrison 8, Lawrence 7, Knight 7; Baldock
5 (Sibley 24th, 4; Kazim-Richards 77th)
STAR MAN: Daniel Iversen
REFEREE: Josh Smith