Curtis Nelson admitted there was a feeling of frustration in the Derby County dressing room as they started September with a 2-1 defeat at Bolton Wanderers in Sky Bet League One.
Derby took the lead through Conor Hourihane's 33rd-minute penalty after Victor Adeboyejo hauled down Callum Elder in the box.
Korey Smith's challenge on Josh Sheehan late in the half handed Bolton the chance to level with a penalty of their own and Dion Charles took the opportunity from 12 yards.
Three minutes into the second half, the game took another twist as Rams goalkeeper Joe Wildsmith was sent off after reacting to a defensive slip-up by blocking Adeboyejo's run and then handling outside his area as Charles tried to fire home from 20 yards.
Substitute goalkeeper Josh Vickers was beaten in the 65th minute as Josh Dacres-Cogley's cross hit midfielder Tyrese Fornah and looped over him to earn the hosts all three points and inflict a first away defeat of the season on Paul Warne’s side.
Nelson spoke to RamsTV after the final whistle to give his assessment on the game.
On the result…
It is a tough one, really. Everyone is dejected in the dressing room. We’ve got ourselves ahead, conceded before half-time and lost to a deflected goal. It is a game of fine margins. We didn’t start well enough and we probably rode our luck a little early on. We have to start better and especially in games against teams that are expected to be up there at the top of the table. We’re gutted but we’ve some time now to put it right before the next game and get some of the injured bodies back. Hopefully we can be in a good place after the international break.
On being a man down for almost an entire half…
It is difficult and especially against a strong side. They were up for it and so were the crowd; it had us on the back foot. After we went behind they didn’t have many clear chances but we didn’t manage to create much either. We did well with ten men but perhaps we need to be braver when we have eleven players out there. We’re disappointed but we will pick ourselves up and go again.
On Jake Rooney’s injury…
I’ve not seen him yet and if it is a serious one, we will all be gutted for him. He has come into the side and done brilliantly. He’s a young lad and he has his whole career ahead of him so if it is bad, then we hope he can come back stronger.
On the international break…
As much as we want a game quickly to put things right, we have time now to regroup before we face Portsmouth in two weeks and we will be ready to go again.
