3/1 To Win
Graeme Shinnie felt Derby County’s players showed their character and fight as they drew 1-1 at high-flying Coventry City on Saturday afternoon.
Shinnie’s equaliser ended Coventry’s 100% winning start at home in the Sky Bet Championship this season.
The Sky Blues, who had won their six previous home matches in the league, dominated in the first half and went in at the break in front after Matt Godden's penalty.
The Rams, without manager Wayne Rooney on the touchline through illness, were much improved in the second half and the enjoyed long spells of possession and pressure.
Colin Kazim-Richards hit the post shortly after coming off the bench before Gustavo Hamer hit the bar at the other end direct from a free-kick.
However, with just over ten minutes remaining, Shinnie netted his first goal of the campaign as he brought down a loose ball inside the box from Nathan Byrne’s cross and lashed home.
Derby, roared on over 3,400 supporters in the away end, extended their unbeaten run to five matches in the process.
Shinnie felt the Rams were poor in the opening 45 minutes, but was full of praise for the way the side regrouped and responded in the second half.
“A deserved point, in the end, is the key thing,” Shinnie told RamsTV after the game. “It was a complete contrast in terms of the two halves today as in the first half we were miles off it on a team and personal level, but I must say Coventry to their credit were very good.
“It’s not been like us this season and it wasn’t good enough and we came in at half time 1-0, still in the game, and in the second half I felt it was total domination from us.
“We deserved our goal and we looked like the only team that would go on and win it which is a positive and a sign of a good team when you don’t play that well in the first half, it’s key that you react.
“I felt our reaction in the second half was very good, we deserved a point and we were the only one that was going to go on and win it.”
He added: “It’s the sign of a good team when you don’t play well over 90 minutes - I thought we were really bad in the first half – and still get something.
“We showed what we are about with the character and fight that we have got; it’s clear to see. It could be a crucial point for us further down the line.”
Derby’s unbeaten run has seen then pick up one win and four successive draws, although their performances have warranted a greater points return.
The Rams remain bottom of the table as a result of being deducted 12 points for entering administration in September, but Shinnie is remaining upbeat about the future.
“When we play like we do in the second half, it’s really enjoyable to play in but we kept going,” he said.
“We got our goal and continued to push for the winner but a draw overall is probably a fair result.
“It’s just a little bit frustrating that we have not had a couple more wins, but we are unbeaten in five.
“I think today overall was a fair result for a draw but some of the previous ones, against Preston North End and Luton Town in the last week, were matches we felt we could have gone on and won and we just have to take the positives and move on.”
On his goal, he added: “It trickled in, I didn’t think it had the power to go in!
“It was a great feeling; I haven’t scored so far this season so it is nice to get off the mark and contribute. We’ve been lacking goals recently. We scored two in the last game against Luton and we scored in this one too, so we need to keep building on that.”
Derby have a week until their next Championship fixture with the Rams hosting Blackburn Rovers at Pride Park Stadium next Saturday (3pm kick-off).
