Wayne Rooney described himself as 'proud' of Derby County’s youngsters despite bowing out of the Carabao Cup at the Round Two hurdle on Tuesday night.
Derby were beaten 2-1 by fellow Sky Bet Championship side Sheffield United at Bramall Lane, with the hosts coming from behind to book their place in Round Three.
Rooney named a youthful Rams side for the encounter against the Blades, with eight players aged 23 or under in the starting line-up, as he shuffled his pack following Saturday’s hard-fought 0-0 draw against Middlesbrough at Pride Park Stadium.
Derby dominated the opening 45 minutes and found themselves in several good goalscoring positions throughout the half.
Their persistence was rewarded as they broke the deadlock on the stroke of half-time as Louie Sibley turned smartly in the box to fire the Rams ahead.
The hosts, who brought experienced midfielder John Fleck off the bench at the break, were back on level terms just after the interval as Luke Freeman headed home a right-wing cross.
Derby’s youngsters recovered well with Jack Stretton going close straight from the kick-off following the equaliser and substitute Lee Buchanan’s deflected cross from the left-hand side hit the outside of the woodwork just after the hour mark.
United grabbed what turned out to be the winner with 13 minutes remaining as Billy Sharp latched on to Kornell McDonald’s under-hit back-pass to round goalkeeper Ryan Allsop and score.
Rooney’s side still pushed to take the tie to penalties and Sibley’s long-range effort flashed narrowly over the bar as the minutes ticked away.
Despite tasting defeat, the Derby boss was proud of his players for their performance against an outfit that was playing in the Premier League just a few months ago.
Speaking to RamsTV after the game at Bramall Lane, Rooney said: “We are out of the cup, but there is so much more that we have gained from this game.
“The same can be said of the Round One tie against Salford City too, but also I thought we were better in this one than we were against them.
“We came here and dominated. The first half was excellent and in the second half I still felt we were the better team.
“I thought the reaction to conceding the first goal was very good. Obviously a mistake has cost us the second goal, but I can stand here and say I am proud of the players for the performance they put in.”
He added: “The fans, again, were magnificent. The lads are disappointed, of course, but myself, the coaches and fans are all proud of that performance from the young players.”
Derby had several chances in the first half with Jack Stretton and Sibley going close, while Isaac Hutchinson also had an opportunity to find the net.
The Rams’ boss felt is side needed to take a little more care in the final third when it really mattered to make their pressure count.
“If there is one criticism, we have to be more clinical,” Rooney said.
“We need to take our chances and take care in the final third. If we do that, then we could have gone in at half time two or three up.
“That said, I am delighted with the players.”
Derby’s final Sky Bet Championship fixture ahead of the September international break comes at Pride Park Stadium on Saturday against local rivals Nottingham Forest (12:30pm kick-off).
