Midfielder Graeme Shinnie admitted it was a frustrating night for Derby County as they were beaten 3-0 by Rotherham United in the Sky Bet Championship.
It was nip and tuck in the opening 75 minutes of the game with both sides going close to opening the scoring. Lee Gregory, on his debut, had Derby’s best chance of the game in the second half but saw his header go wide.
Michael Ihiekwe, Michael Smith and Ryan Giles scored the goals for the Millers in the final 15 minutes of the game.
And Shinnie admitted it was a frustrating night for everyone associated with the Rams.
“In recent games we have defended really well for the full 90 minutes and had three clean sheets in a row and that really sets us up to win games,” he told RamsTV. “I thought we stood up to it well for the majority of the game and we had a couple of chances just before their goal.
“We got in some good areas to try and get a goal, but we didn’t. We have to keep switched on, it’s a poor goal that we lose with a lofted ball into the box.
“We don’t deal with the first header then the guy is free to knock it in at the second attempt, which is very frustrating.
“That hasn’t been like us in recent games, but it doesn’t matter what has happened in the past – we need to keep switched on and that is the frustrating part.
“They get a goal and their tails go up. We try and push for it and gaps open up. Credit to them, they took full advantage of it. It is just a frustrating night for us. It was a big game, we knew that and we haven’t been good enough.”
The result reduces the gap between the two sides in the Sky Bet Championship table. Two points now separate Derby from the relegation places in the division and Shinnie knows the Rams need to have fight to get out of the position they find themselves in.
“We knew before the game what a win could do for us and what a defeat would do,” he said. “It drives us right back in it, we are in the thick of it and we need to stand up and fight.
“There’s no way around it, it’s a dog fight at the bottom and one we need to deal with. We have Barnsley away on Saturday now and we need to go and try and with the game.”
The news was confirmed after the game that Krystian Bielik will spend a sustained period of time out of action due to an ACL injury.
The midfielder suffered the injury in the 1-0 victory over Bristol City on Saturday.
“Everyone is gutted for him,” Shinnie admitted. “I think we could tell how back it was in the last game by how he was. We are all devastated for him. He was really in good form and I had a good partnership building up with him in the middle.
“These things happen in football and you have to deal with it. There are plenty of players ready to step in. we have got new players in now, fresh faces, that add competition to the squad.
“The boys that are playing know that there are new faces now and the standards need to be as high as they can for every game.”
