Liam Rosenior was understandably drained but incredibly proud after Derby County stormed back to defeat Peterborough United 2-1 at Pride Park Stadium on Saturday.
Rosenior’s side moved into the top six of Sky Bet League One following a dramatic finish to the game.
Peterborough, down to ten men after Nathan Thompson’s second half red card, took the lead through Josh Knight midway through the second half to leave the Rams staring at a first home defeat of the campaign.
However, Jason Knight equalised with two minutes of normal time remaining before substitute David McGoldrick netted the winner in added time to send the home faithful wild.
Derby have won their opening three league games of the campaign on home turf and Rosenior was understandably delighted when he spoke to RamsTV after the final whistle to reflect on the memorable comeback.
The Emotions Of Winning The Game…
I am so proud of the team. We didn’t play to our level today, but the players kept believing and pushing. I am also proud of the fans; I am not sure how many times we’ve done this scoring late at home, but we’ve had a few of them. We’ve got a spirit and togetherness between the players, staff and fans and they sucked the ball into the net at the end. I think it is payback for the fact we haven’t had our just rewards this season from the performances we’ve put in. That is the worst we’ve played and things even themselves out over the season. We have got three points against a team that will definitely be a promotion contender this season. It puts us in a good position to push on now.
His Reaction To Going Behind And Character Of The Squad…
We didn’t react well to the red card and that can happen. You have to give Peterborough credit, once they went down to ten men they had energy and were excellent. I need to analyse it and watch the match back. When you make sloppy mistakes in possession you give the opposition the upper hand, which we did in the second half. However, we clawed our way back into the game. I made changes and freshened up the team and all the lads that came off the bench made a real difference. They all played a huge part. I don’t want to single players out, but Jason Knight was outstanding today and a credit to the club. He is in a different position at right back, but he’s not out of position and showing his quality. He has been a pleasure to work with.
On Believing There Was A Chance To Win It…
I really believed if we could get one, another would follow. As Knighty was celebrating the equaliser I was screaming at the lads to get the ball out the net! When you play against ten men and you get a late goal after they’ve put so much effort in, there’s always another chance. Lewis Dobbin did great down the left in his first full match in league football to set up David McGoldrick. He showed his energy and ability. Didzy is a top man and a top player and he also showed that scoring the winner. It is a positive day for us and now we need to push on.
On Winning The First Three Home Games For The First Time In 25 Years…
It is a reward for the fans. They were magnificent and have been in every single way. They make the difference and they were today. I went around to thank them today at the end; they won us this game and kept us going. If they can keep that passion and noise, we could be in for a really exciting season. I enjoyed the moment when we scored the winner; I am normally calm but I really enjoyed it.