WE NEED KIND OF MAGIC – McCLAREN
RAMS boss Steve McClaren says his side are not ready to go top – but it could just be a matter of time.
After seeing Derby held to a disappointing draw, despite dominating possession, McClaren said: “We’re pretty pleased with how we’ve done so far, and this squad will get stronger as the season progresses.
“Today showed what we have to contend with. Teams are going to make it difficult and frustrate, and we have to be patient. We needed that one bit of magic and it wasn’t there. We lacked any quality in the final third.
“We started well and, if we’d taken one of four or five early chances, we might have gone on.
“But I’m pleased with the way we are playing our football.”
Derby paid the penalty for falling painfully short of attacking ideas, despite pushing Ian Holloway’s men back for almost the whole of the second half.
David Forde’s dive to his left, to paw away a curling shot from Jamie Ward in the 28th minute, proved the only real save made by either goalkeeper during a disappointing game from an entertainment point of view.
Jordon Ibe’s dithering deep inside the Lions box resulted in him being crowded out.
It was probably the Rams’ best sight of goal, along with a leftfooted drive from Matthew Briggs which flew a yard wide at the opposite end.
Millwall’s lion-hearted defenders deserve a lot of credit for the stalemate.
Shaun Williams was outstanding as he led a determined rearguard action.
There was never any shortage of balls heading into his penalty area, yet he and Byron Webster resisted with spirit and authority.
Derby racked up the corners and increased their possession statistics, yet a breakthrough looked increasingly unlikely as the half possessed.
Bookings for Whitbread and Millwall’s Martyn Woolford took the referee’s final tally to eight, which ultimately became the game’s most interesting stat.
Millwall gave a good account of themselves in the first half, defending stoutly and attacking with menace and pace on the event.
They clearly had the better shout for an injustice when striker Lee Gregory, a frequent thorn in the Rams’ side, was shoved in the back by Cyrus Christie inside the penalty area in the tenth minute. Holloway twisted in the air in frustration as referee Mark Haywood waved away his protests.
Forde’s save from Ward came from the Derby striker’s fourth effort on goal inside the opening 28 minutes.
Two were off target and the other was blocked.
Mr Haywood then cranked up his controversial contribution by waving five yellow cards within ten minutes.
He was spot-on in denying Ibe a penalty when he tumbled over Forde’s challenge after a storming run.
Chris Martin and Forde himself were cautioned as nine or ten players vehemently contested the decision.
Holloway was in typically philosophical form, expressing his pleasure at the result rather than how it was achieved.
“Give us credit for Derby not winning – but I don’t want us to kick the ball away,” he said.
“I wanted us to play out more, rather than give them possession back.
“That’s not usually the way to keep clean sheets.
“It [the penalty claim] doesn’t matter at all. I don’t want to talk about referees. They have a difficult job.
“I had a defence that had never played together and they did very well. Byron Webster, in particular, was immense.
“Good luck to The Rams. We have to improve to get where they want to get in the Championship.”