RED-HOT LOZZA
Roo tells captain to get sun after being sent off
DERBY captain Tom Lawrence will get a sunshine holiday despite being sent off for a tackle Peterborough manager Darren Ferguson branded “horrendous”.
Lawrence will be suspended for three games after stamping on Nathan Thompson’s ankle two minutes into the second half of a feisty relegation battle.
It took the game to 10-a-side after Hayden Coulson had been red carded in the first half for two yellows in four minutes.
“It was a horrendous tackle,” claimed Ferguson.
“There were two red cards but I thought there might have been four.”
Lawrence (right) reacted badly after Thompson hit him and Rooney said: “It was a stupid tackle by Lawrence, he knows that. He’s reacted after he got a bang to the head or something and I’ve said to him he’s very lucky he’s got a manager who understands that because it happened many times to me.
“We lose him for three games. It’s not great for us with a small squad but we’ve had to deal with many issues this season.
“This is another one, he’s our captain and been great for us.
“I will give him the option to take time off and maybe get a bit of sun. I know you might think, ‘Why do you not punish him?’, but we have to look beyond that and do what’s best for him, to get the best out of Tom Lawrence for the games he will be available.”
Derby dominated and the win puts them above Posh, still five points behind Reading and safety. But Peterborough can’t win an away game and can’t score a goal anywhere, and it still needed Derby going into the 92nd minute before sub Louie Sibley won it for them.
He took a pass from another sub, Ravel Morrison, and shot past goalkeeper Steven Benda, who had played well to that point.
Ferguson revealed Benda apologised in the dressing room after, saying the ball bounced in front of him as he dived to save.
“It’s a tough one to take,” admitted Ferguson.
“You can imagine how we are all feeling in the dressing room.
“We felt this week was going to be pivotal for us and to only get one point is very disappointing.”
DERBY: J Derby: Allsop 6; Byrne 6, Davies 6, Cashin 7, Forsyth 6 (Sibley 70,6); Bird 7, Bielik 7 (Morrison 83), Knight 7 (Cybulski 90); Ebosele 8, Plange 6,Lawrence 5. Subs not used: Roos, Ebiowei, Stretton, Thompson. PETERBOROUGH: Benda 7; Thompson 6, Knight 7, Kent 7, Coulson 5; Fuchs 6 (Clarke-Harris 51, 5),Brown 6, Norburn 7; Ward 6, Marriott 5 (Jones 60, 5), Morton 5 (Mumba 37, 5).
Subs not used: Cornell, Edwards, Grant, Poku.
MAN OF THE MATCH: Festy Ebosele.Constant threat with his pace and trickery.
REFEREE: James Linington7.