Paul Warne admitted he was disappointed that his Derby County side were ‘collectively not as good as we could have been’ as they were beaten 2-0 by Sunderland at the Stadium of Light in the Sky Bet Championship on Tuesday night.
Derby started well against the high-flying Black Cats but fell behind late in the first half when Sunderland midfielder Jobe Bellingham thundered a long-range strike into the far corner beyond the reach of Rams goalkeeper Jacob Widell Zetterström.
Wilson Isidor doubled the lead for the home side just before the hour mark from close range and despite Derby having a couple of chances to pull a goal back, notably when defender Eiran Cashin was denied from a corner, they were unable to find a way back into the contest.
Derby’s Head Coach offered his assessment on the 90 minutes against the Black Cats, who moved to the top of the Championship table with the win, to RamsTV moments after the final whistle.
On the result…
We are obviously disappointed. I thought we started the game really well and quietened the crowd down a bit. There wasn’t much in the first half, neither team were really amazing, but they were just a bit more concise than us in possession. We gave the ball away a bit too much for my liking in the middle of the pitch, which we’d worked on to try and avoid doing. There’s always going to be mistakes in play, but we gave it away a few too many times and tried doing little flicks. Their first goal was a screamer, but most of their attacks came from our poor play. I felt we were a bit better in the second half, although we did concede again. I don’t think Sunderland had many chances in the second half and we had some good moments. I am being a bit critical, perhaps, but we needed to play with that personality in the first half and not when we’re 2-0 down. I want the lads to stand up and play with a real confidence throughout. We just weren’t as good, collectively, as we could have been. I don’t want the lads to waste their lives or their careers and it felt like tonight was a wasted opportunity as we didn’t perform with enough courage in the first half. That is on me as well.
On the fine margins in games…
Their second goal was a cross and a tap-in. We got in similar areas and even when Kane Wilson played Kayden Jackson in midway through the second half, he just over-cooked the pass. If we had got a goal back, we would have been in a good place. We didn’t get what our play possibly deserved in the second half. We just weren’t clinical enough.
On the away fans’ backing…
It was a brilliant following. I know it is a long, long way up here and especially on a Tuesday evening. I appreciate the support during the game and for staying to clap the lads off at the end.
On preparing for Queens Park Rangers at Pride Park on Saturday…
We need to pick the lads up when we’re in on Thursday to start the preparation for Saturday. We’ll show them the good things to take into the weekend. We want to go into the international break with a win because three defeats on the spin is not what we want. We want to put smiles on people’s faces come Saturday night.
