No need to change it earlier as we chased game: Cocu
PHILLIP Cocu used only one substitute in Derby County’s 3-2 defeat by Bristol City on Wednesday. That was striker Jack Marriott, who came off the bench two minutes from the end of normal time.
Goals from Martyn Waghorn after 61 minutes and Chris Martin in the 82nd minute had dragged Derby back into the Championship clash at Ashton Gate after they had trailed 3-0.
They needed a third goal to rescue a point but Cocu waited before introducing Marriott for midfielder Max Bird in the closing minutes.
Asked if he had considered putting Marriott on earlier, Cocu replied: “No, because I think we played very well and scored two goals in that period.
“Of course you try at the end of the game to force something but, not due to Jack, we changed, got a midfielder off and then the structure (changed) and we didn’t really create anything.
“So it is not always an improvement for the team but we tried.
“With Jack and with his individual quality, he can score a goal any second but the team was in a good position and good form, so it was not necessary to change.”
Here is the rest of what Cocu said in his press conference after the game:
Q) What was your view on the handball and penalty claim?
PC: I couldn’t see it from my angle.
Q) Have you seen it since?
PC: Yes but not clear, only from our own camera. What they told me was, yes, it was handball.
Q) What was your general assessment of the game?
PC: I think we played a great game. They beat us by the set-pieces and a goal from a cross. That is their quality, of course, every team has their qualities. They scored the goals against us at Pride Park the same.
We controlled the game most of the time, we played good football, came back when we were 3-0 down. We kept playing, scored two good goals and were close to getting an equaliser.
The penalty (that wasn’t given) could be a crucial moment.
The four excellent minutes of extra time by the fourth official! It is a mystery how they calculate these extra minutes, that was a little bit personal frustration for me but it was not why we lost the game.
We lost the game due to the set plays. It is a part of the game we improved over a period of time quite