Phillip Cocu admitted there was a feeling of frustration in the Derby County dressing room following the 2-2 draw at Barnsley on Wednesday evening.
Derby looked to be on course for all three points at Oakwell courtesy of goals from Chris Martin and Tom Huddlestone following Aapo Halme's early-opener for the hosts.
However, deep into added time, Cauley Woodrow scored from close range to deny the Rams back-to-back victories in the Sky Bet Championship for the first time this season.
Cocu was bitterly disappointed that his side weren’t able to see the game out in South Yorkshire, particularly after getting into some promising attacking areas on the break in the second half to put the game to bed.
He told RamsTV: “It is frustrating to concede so late and only leave here with a point.
“We knew how it felt to get a point late on at Leeds recently and the feeling of a draw can be positive, but this is the contrary when we concede like we did.
“We came back after the goal from Barnsley early on and we did well to be in front by half-time.
“We dominated, we created chances and the only thing we didn’t do after going 2-1 up, with so many possibilities where we won the ball and had a lot of space, was get the third one.
“They stayed in the game and another set-piece has cost us.”
He added: “That is something we really need to go and work on. There is something missing in the team on both the offensive and defensive aspect. It is decisive in many occasions of games and today we lost two points because of that.”
Huddlestone’s first goal of the season, just before half-time, proved to be a bittersweet moment for the midfielder and the Rams.
He stepped up to score from the penalty spot, after Tom Lawrence was fouled in the box, but injured his hamstring in the process and was forced off.
Cocu expects Huddlestone to miss the weekend’s clash with Luton Town at Pride Park Stadium and says Derby may have to wait as long as 48 hours to find out the extent of the problem.
“Tom felt something in his hamstring,” Cocu admitted.
“We hope it is not too bad but if it is real damage he will probably be out for some time. I don’t know if we will know tomorrow. Normally we have to wait 48 hours, so I would say he is definitely not available for Saturday’s game.
“It’s a shame as he stepped up, not only by scoring the penalty but also in his game. Against Birmingham on Saturday he was really together with Curtis Davies to lead the team and tonight again he played excellent. If he will be out for a long time, it will be a big setback for us.”
Derby’s players are back in for training on Thursday morning to begin preparations for the home fixture against Luton.
Cocu says the full focus will be set on trying to extend the Rams’ unbeaten run, which stands at four games, before the latest international break.
“Tomorrow we will start again and focus on Luton on Saturday,” he said.
