3/1 To Win
Scott Carson admits Derby County now have no margin for error in the final three games of the season following their narrow 2-1 defeat to Middlesbrough.
Muhamed Besic and Britt Assombalonga struck either side of the interval for Tony Pulis’ side before David Nugent’s penalty, deep into stoppage time, halved the deficit at Pride Park Stadium.
The goal came too little too late for the Rams, who tasted defeat for the third game in a row, but remain just a single point outside of the Sky Bet Championship top-six and with their destiny still in their own hands.
Assessing the game as a whole, Carson, the 32-year-old shot-stopper, feels the Rams delivered a far stronger performance than in their previous two defeats, but were ultimately undone in two crucial moments of the contest.
Boro’s opener, from Besic, arguably came against the run of play, whilst the second coming with the Rams throwing everything at Darren Randolph’s goal as they searched for an equaliser.
“We had a few moments, but overall, I think we lacked the quality in and around the box,” Carson told RamsTV.
“We got into some great positions, but just couldn’t find that final ball. Middlesbrough had two good opportunities and they took them.
“We had to push forward, which meant they had a few openings, but on the whole I thought it was better than the week before at Burton.
“There is a big contrast between those two games and I don’t think anyone could really question our desire and the commitment we put in. On that front, it was a big improvement.”
Carson was also full of praise for the Derby supporters post-game.
“The fans deserve a lot of credit today,” he said. “They didn’t get on our backs once and I think that boiled down to the fact that they could see us putting in that effort.
“We worked hard and put our tackles in. We knew how frustrated they were last week and we wanted to put that right.
“We wanted to stop people questioning our desire and commitment. Had the result been different, I think people would have been talking about how improved we were.”
Derby’s focus now turns to Tuesday night for their re-arranged fixture with automatic-promotion chasing Cardiff City on home turf.
The Rams know at least a point will see them climb above Millwall and back into the top-six with just two games remaining and the Carson says the players know exactly what is at stake.
“It’s going to be a big game,” he said. “It’s two teams with different objectives, but it is all about us.
“We know we have to win to get back to where we want to be. We are still only a point off that.
“Results went our way today, but that can only happen for so long. There’s going to be no second chances after this now.”
