Rowett gives up on top-two spot
Even a feisty East Midlands derby could not restore the missing momentum to Derby County’s faltering promotion challenge.
A scrappy match produced 33 fouls, five yellow cards and a red for Derby’s Tom Huddlestone, but not the goal manager Gary Rowett craved to lift his team, who have slipped out of the race for automatic promotion.
They were second in the table only a month ago, but have tumbled to fifth place after a run of seven matches without a win, 11 points off the pace.
“Realistically, second place is too far for us now,” Rowett said. “I can talk about only two defeats in 18 games, but we aren’t turning enough draws into wins.”
Rowett admitted he was frustrated with referee Jeremy Simpson, who sent off Huddlestone after 81 minutes following his second yellow card in the space of three minutes, both times for fouls on Forest’s Lee Tomlin, whom he felt was inviting Derby players to concede free-kicks all game.
“I spoke to the referee at halftime and my biggest frustration was what I felt would happen was happening,” he said. “Don’t get me wrong, I admire Lee Tomlin as a player and I don’t have a problem with what he does – but the officials have to see it.”
To compound his disappointment, Rowett felt the second yellow should not have been given. “I’ve watched it again and there is clearly no contact. The referee has made a genuine mistake, but it is in a big game and it meant we lost the opportunity to continue that pressure in the last 10 minutes,” he said.
“We also lose Tom for the next game and we cannot appeal because it is two yellows and I find that really stupid.”
It was little consolation to him that Forest goalkeeper Costel Pantilimon ought to have been named man of the match for the brilliant double save that denied Derby a goal late in the first half.
The giant goalkeeper kept out a fierce effort by David Nugent from an Andreas Weimann cutback and then managed to stick out a foot to stop Tom Lawrence’s follow-up.
Forest defended solidly, but did not force even one save from Derby goalkeeper Scott Carson, although they are unbeaten in six games under manager Aitor Karanka, who promised better in the future.
“We have 10 new players who have played together only in the last month and it would be expecting too much for us to play perfectly,” he said. “But we are looking more like a team and we will score goals as we get better together.”