Defender Craig Forsyth felt Derby County showed plenty of character to dig in at crucial moments as they claimed a 2-1 victory at Mansfield Town in Round One of the Carabao Cup on Tuesday night.
Substitute Tom Barkhuizen’s second half header settled a thrilling cup clash with Nigel Clough’s League Two outfit at the One Call Stadium.
Derby had taken a first half lead through Elliott Hewitt’s own goal, but Oli Hawkins levelled for the hosts after half-time as they put the Rams under heavy pressure.
Forsyth, who captained the side, believe the Rams’ strength in depth was vital to securing their place in Round Two of the competition with Barkhuizen and Nathaniel Mendez-Laing making a big impact following their second half introductions.
The Rams’ longest-serving player caught up with RamsTV after the final whistle to offer his verdict on the clash with the Stags and look ahead to Saturday’s League One clash at home to Barnsley.
On The Victory Over Mansfield…
The main thing is to be in the hat for the next round and we did that. We had to weather the storm from them after half time, which we expected, but we managed to see it out at the end. The substitutes made a big impact when they came on, which is what the manager has talked about. Everyone needs to make an impact when they came on and they did just that.
On Digging In At Crucial Times…
I think that’s something that we saw in pre-season when we came up against that direct style of play, against Stevenage for example. It was a good test for us again to see that style and tonight we managed to see it out and come out on top with a victory.
On Good Individual Performances…
Joe Wildsmith did well in goal and I also thought that Jake Rooney was excellent in the first half in breaking things up in midfield, keeping it simple and moving the ball. I thought he did very well considering it was his debut.
On The First Half Performance…
It’s just that ruthlessness in front of goal which we need to get and once we get that I think we may see two or three goals go in during the first half when we are on top. When we do that, I am sure we can relax and control the game a lot more.
On The Substitutes’ Impact…
What we have this year is a bit more depth in the squad so the players that are in the group are ready to make an impact. It’s shown in the few matches we have played so far this season that everyone is coming off the bench and making an impact.
On Wearing The Captain’s Armband…
It’s nice and an honour to captain this club. Having been here so long, almost ten years, it’s a privilege to play all the time and I want to make sure that this year is a good year for me and Derby County.
On Saturday’s Game Against Barnsley…
Winning tonight is a good thing to try and get that momentum going. We have a lot of games in the next six weeks with Saturday and Tuesday games so it’s important we get into a good run and try to carry that momentum on.
