Cruel ending and 10-man Rams still stuck in drop zone
ROONEY’S MEN FLOORED BY LATE WINNER AFTER WAGHORN SEES RED IN FIRST HALF
DERBY County’s unbeaten sixmatch run came to an end when Preston North End’s last-gasp winner inflicted a 1-0 defeat on the Rams, who had to play for all but 20 minutes of the Championship clash at Pride Park Stadium with 10 men.
Here are the key points:
■ CRUEL ENDING BUT THERE’S NO TIME TO FEEL SORRY
The disappointment is understandable, the cruelty of conceding in the 96th minute crushing.
The bottom line in the Rams’ defeat by the Lilywhites is that they emerged empty-handed and still have only Wycombe Wanderers and Sheffield Wednesday below them in the table with the halfway point of the season on the horizon.
The situation remains one of concern and yet it was clear to see why the Rams are a different proposition to what they were earlier in the campaign.
They are a tougher nut to crack these days, even with 10 men, as we saw against North End.
Losing a player to a red card, in this case Martyn Waghorn, as early as the 20th minute set the pattern of the game.
The visitors would have the lion’s share of possession, they did with 64%, and Derby had to adjust their game-plan. They did.
They were determined and disciplined without the ball.
They dropped into a 4-3-2 shape, dug in, defended, ran and grafted.
And when they had the ball, they looked to ask a few questions of their opponents.
True, they registered only one effort on target, Matt Clarke’s header, and a shortage of goals is a problem needing to be addressed in the January transfer window.
That is a must because 11 blanks have been recorded in 20 League fixtures, a pitiful return.
Derby have tightened up and this was evident again.
Alan Browne’s excellent strike deep in added time, and it took a cracker to break Derby, was the first goal conceded in 456 minutes, more than seven and a half hours.
The stat highlights the improvement without the ball, a resilience and a togetherness.
Wayne Rooney felt this was Derby’s best performance of the season. The display in beating Swansea topped this, for me, but the interim manager’s view is valid given the circumstances.
And back to the bottom line. This also has to be about points as well as plaudits given Derby’s position.
The Rams must now travel to face Birmingham City tomorrow and use the frustration, the disappointment to their advantage.
There is no time to feel sorry for themselves.
■ WAGHORN’S COSTLY RED CARD
Martyn Waghorn does not need to be told how costly his red card proved to be in the defeat by Preston North End. He will know, he will feel it.
Waghorn was sent off in the 20th minute for a rash, mistimed challenge on North End skipper Alan Browne. No-one disputed the decision, nor could they.
Waghorn’s departure left his team-mates with an uphill task for 70-plus minutes as they looked to stretch their unbeaten run to seven matches.
They very nearly did, only for Brown to curl in an excellent winning goal deep into added time at the end of the contest.
All Derby’s hard work was undone in that moment and it was cruel on them because they deserved a point for the impressive manner in which they handled being a man down.
We will never know what would have happened had Derby kept 11 players on the pitch but given Preston’s poor record against the Rams - one win in the previous 20 League matches and no League win at Pride Park since 2002 - the red card was costly.
Waghorn will serve a three-match suspension, ruling him out of the Championship fixtures away to Birmingham City and Sheffield Wednesday, and the FA Cup tie at Chorley.
■ TASK REMAINS THE SAME
Derby County head to St Andrew’s tomorrow night to face Birmingham City looking to climb out of the Championship’s bottom three for the first time in two months.
The Rams thought they had done just that on Saturday.
They sat fourth bottom with 96 minutes on the clock in their clash with Preston North End.
The contest was goalless and the point had seen them clamber above Rotherham United, whose fixture at Middlesbrough had been postponed.
But Alan Brown’s late strike for North End left Derby nursing a 1-0 defeat and sent them back into the bottom three on goal difference, having played a game more than the Millers.
The Rams have now lost half of their 20 League games and won only three.
Their next task remains the same, to get themselves out of the relegation zone.