3/1 To Win
Wayne Rooney was left to rue what he described as poor game management in the second half as Derby County fell to a 3-1 loss at Blackburn Rovers on Tuesday night.
The defeat, and results elsewhere, leave Derby six points adrift of safety in the Sky Bet Championship table with eight matches remaining.
Derby find themselves in the bottom three following a 21-point deduction earlier in the campaign and the Rams have bravely fought against the odds over the course of the campaign.
It proved to be a frustrating night for Rooney’s side, who started well and put themselves in a good place to pick up their third away win of the campaign.
Derby were impressive throughout the opening 45 minutes at Ewood Park and enjoyed long spells of possession, as well as getting into some good attacking areas.
Ravel Morrison swept home his third goal in as many games after 28 minutes after Nathan Byrne laid the ball across goal for the Jamacia international.
However, the promotion-chasing hosts hit back after half-time and turned the game around inside 15 minutes following a double substitution and a tactical switch.
They levelled seven minutes into the half through defender Scott Wharton’s header from a corner which sparked the hosts into life.
Tony Mowbray’s side piled on the pressure after getting back level and took the lead before the hour mark through Tyrhys Dolan headed home from close range following another corner.
And as Derby pushed for an equaliser late on, Blackburn added a third through a Sam Gallagher header on the break.
Rooney felt, after such a promising first half, his side’s game management in the second period ultimately cost them as the contest fell out of Derby’s grasp.
Speaking to RamsTV after the game, Rooney said: “In the first half we completely dominated the game.
“We got the goal, went in at half time 1-0 up and everything which I wanted from the performance was there.
“There were plenty of chances, but you have to take your chances and we have to be clinical. We had opportunities to go 2-0 up but we didn’t take them.
“I spoke to the lads and said that Blackburn were going to come out on the front foot and we could see how frustrated they were and the coaches were.
“They were going to come out on the front foot and I made them aware that set pieces would be crucial.
“I made it clear: don’t lose your focus, stay with your men.
“We didn’t do that for the first two goals they scored so our game management could have been better. We conceded those two goals fairly quickly and then it’s an uphill battle from there.
“I also pointed out that if they were pressing us, with the crowd behind them, that we had to go a bit more direct.
“Even though I want the team to play, we tried to play a little bit too much. You must read the game and I don’t think we did that well enough. We had to manage that better than we did and ultimately that has cost us.”
Striker Colin Kazim-Richards left the field on the stretcher in the second half and looked in a considerable amount of pain.
The frontman was introduced into the action as a substitute and, after injuring his ankle, he will need to be assessed by the Rams’ medical team to determine the extend of the damage.
Rooney said: “It’s his ankle; I’m not sure how bad it is but hopefully it’s not too bad.
“The medical team are assessing him at the minute and we go from there. I hope he’s okay and it’s not nice when a player gets stretchered off the pitch.”
Following back-to-back away fixtures in the last few days, Derby will return to Pride Park Stadium on Saturday to host Coventry City in their final fixture before the final international break of the season (12:30pm kick-off).
Rooney concluded: “We have to stick with it, keep trying to perform and play the right way and pick up points.
“It’s a disappointing one tonight after playing so well in the first half but we need to learn. I know they are young players who have played tonight, but we must learn. If we are playing in this division, we have to learn, whether that be game management, concentration, focus, we have to get better at that.”
