3/1 To Win
Wayne Rooney felt that two lapses in concentration proved to be costly for Derby County as they were beaten 2-1 by Birmingham City at Pride Park Stadium on Saturday.
Derby broke the deadlock after 36 minutes of a tight first half in the Derbyshire sunshine as striker Colin Kazim-Richards netted his eighth goal of the season from Lee Buchanan’s inviting low cross.
The visitors hauled themselves back onto level terms as Lukas Jutkiewicz headed beyond Kelle Roos following a long throw into the Derby penalty box.
The Birmingham striker went on to get what turned out the winner six minutes from time as he stooped to power a header into the bottom corner from a right-wing cross.
The result, the Rams' fifth loss in a row, leaves Derby still four points clear of the Sky Bet Championship’s relegation zone with two of their own matches left to play, while Rotherham United, who are 22nd, have two games in hand.
Talking to RamsTV after the match, Rooney said: “I am disappointed with the result, I didn’t think there was much in the game and I thought it was quite even.
“We set up a bit differently today and went more direct, went with a few more long balls to match Birmingham in how they play.
“I thought we did that well in the first half, got the goal and took the lead. To lose from that position is very disappointing.
“I told the players behind that both boxes were going to be very important today and that set plays were going to be important. We conceded one goal from a long throw and another from a throw-in that became a cross into the box.
“Birmingham must have had about 25 long throws into the box and were causing problems with them. I thought we defended really well against it and then two lapses in concentration has cost us.
“Conceding the first goal knocked us a bit, but I felt we were still in the game, but the second goal was the killer. You can’t turn off for one second. It is very disappointing.”
The Derby boss added: “On Tuesday (3-0 defeat at Preston) I was very disappointed in the lack of energy and lack of fight in the game.
“Today, I can’t say that. I thought the lads fought for every ball, they gave everything to try and get the win. Unfortunately, two lapses of concentration cost us.”
Derby have two fixtures remaining in the 2020/21 Championship season, away at Swansea City next Saturday before concluding the campaign at home to Sheffield Wednesday in a fortnight’s time.
Rooney says his side must show belief they can get the results required to finish above the bottom three.
He said: “This was a game we could have won and if we had then the table would have been completely different.
“The only positive is that both Sheffield Wednesday and Rotherham lost. Now we have to focus on Swansea and a tough game against them.
“We have to do our job. We are capable of winning, so we must believe we can.”
