3/1 To Win
A battle until the end – Norwich City’s second-half penalty, converted by James Maddison, saw Derby County held to a share of points on a wet day at Pride Park.
Upon reflection, Cameron Jerome labelled the final result as 'disappointing' – though in hindsight it’s a point that could prove to be valuable come the end of the season.
In terms of the flow of the game, a positive start from the Rams was capitalised on by a moment of brilliance from Matej Vydra, who picked up the ball on the edge of the box on 12 minutes and unleashed a venomous strike into Angus Gunn’s far corner.
As the game grew older, though, the Canaries grew wiser – and after a number of chances to break level, including a missed penalty late in the second half, the visitors finally did so on 72 minutes from the spot through Maddison.
Reflecting on what was an end-to-end game of football, Jerome told RamsTV: “From my point of view, it’s disappointing because I want to win every single game. We have got the belief and ability to beat any team in this division.
“I’m probably a little bit disappointed in the performance, because I don’t think we played as well as we are capable of.
“Since I joined the club, the level of performance has been a lot higher than that, but on the other side of it, it’s a point that could be important.
“Every point counts, as we know, but in theory, it is difficult to take after the level of performance that we have set in previous games.”
The forward added: “Norwich put a lot of pressure on us, especially in the second half, and at times, I felt like they played a little bit better than us.
Sometimes you have to hold your hands up and admit when you weren’t at it.”
Putting the result to one side, the former Norwich City man took time to access the performances of two crucial individuals.
A hat-full of crucial saves, including in a penalty situation, saw Scott Carson, once again, catch the eye of the 27,000 strong crowd.
Vydra also earned praise by adding to his league-leading tally of goals; that now marks as 17 and counting for the season.
On his the impressive performances of his teammates, Jerome added: “He is going to be a really key player for us and has been all season.
“Scott (Carson) has been brilliant all year and he would have been disappointed to have conceded today.
“Despite that, Scotty is Scotty. We all know of his qualities and he too is going to be another vital player for us moving forward.
“All we hope now is that he keeps up his rich vein of form up until the end of the season.”
As for Vydra, he said: “Just from seeing him at Watford, you know the quality that he possesses.
“He took his goal really well today with a great turn in the box and it was a great finish with his left foot.
“He is going to be a really key player for us and has been all season.”
