Despite the 3-0 defeat against Reading, striker Martyn Waghorn was proud of how Derby County played on a difficult afternoon at the Madejski Stadium.
The Rams fell a man and a goal behind after just four minutes as Scott Malone was dismissed for being deemed to have deniedg Reading a goalscoring opportunity in the Rams' penalty area.
Charlie Adam converted the penalty, however, it was the Rams who looked the most likely to get back into the game.
Jason Knight, on a couple of occasions, and Waghorn forced saves from Reading goalkeeper Rafael Cabral, whilst Tom Lawrence struck the post as the Rams showed great resilience.
Against the run of play, Reading managed to score a second and third from the penalty spot in the second half, through Lucas Joao and Yakou Meite, but Derby fought until the final minute in a bid to get something out of the game and Knight hit the woodwork from distance.
The defeat means the Rams have drawn two and lost four of their last six Sky Bet Championship games, but Waghorn is convinced the side can turn their fortunes around.
Speaking to RamsTV after the game, Waghorn said: “Regardless of the official’s decisions today, the way we played and if we keep playing with that attitude then it’s only a matter of time until the results turn.
“Yes, we need to get results, it’s a results-based business, and it’s not good enough on that front, but we showed signs today of doing something right going forward and hopefully we can build on that.
“At times, they didn’t really know how to deal with us. That’s testament to the way we played. To cause them problems like we did with 10 men was brilliant and, on another day, you could have played different and gone into your shell.
“We played so well as a team and as a player in that team, I was so proud to play in it and be part of it because we showed a lot of character which we probably didn’t in the last couple of weeks.”
He continued: “Going forward, it was probably the best we have been for a long while. The bravery, the courage and the way we played going down to 10 men was brilliant.
“It’s something that we have touched on in the past weeks, that we need to be more fluid going forward, have a bit more bravery and enjoy playing football.
“Although the result didn’t go to plan, it was probably the best we’ve felt as a team going forward. We had opportunities and if one of them goes in then it’s 1-1 and it’s a different game.
“It’s a game made on decisions by the referee and it’s potentially cost us our points total today.”