Derby County centre-back Nat Phillips lauded Jerry Yates’ ‘audacity and confidence’ after the striker’s overhead kick opened the scoring in the Rams' draw 1-1 with Plymouth Argyle on Saturday afternoon.
Yates opened the scoring early on with a sublime overhead kick before Plymouth's captain Adam Randall levelled the game from a deflected free kick before the half-time whistle.
The Rams dominated the game for long spells but couldn’t find the winning goal, while both side’s defences held firm as the pressure ramped up in the closing stages of the game and the Rams and the Pilgrims looking to claim all three points.
Phillips spoke to RamsTV after making his first start at Pride Park Stadium since joining the club on a season-long loan deal from Liverpool back in August.
On the performance against Plymouth…
It felt like we dominated the game, and it feels a little bit disappointing coming in now with only one point. It wasn't for a lack of trying. We did everything we could, kept knocking on the door and, unfortunately, it just wouldn't seem to go in at the end.
On Jerry Yates and his goal…
I had a great view of it and I could see the ball had sat up for him perfectly. I didn't think he'd have the audacity to try it, but that’s Jerry for you. It’s the first time I've seen him go for a strike like that. It couldn't have gone any better for him!
I think when you're scoring an overhead kick, it shows how confident you are. He's been playing really well lately. He got a goal in midweek at Coventry and contributed to the second, too.
The second attempt today (a long shot from the halfway line) was of a high level of skill to execute that the way he did, too. He was unfortunate that the goalkeeper did so well to keep it out.
On the performance just missing a winning goal…
I don't think we could have done much more. We said as a group at half-time, we were pretty comfortable in the first half an hour and then maybe got a bit too comfortable. Perhaps we stopped doing the things that were getting us success. We worked extremely hard throughout, especially in the second half as well to keep going and keep pushing. It felt like we deserved more from the game and the three points.
On getting his first start at Pride Park Stadium…
I've had to be patient since coming in. The defence have been performing well since I've been here, so it's been difficult to get into the team. You just have to remain patient and be ready for those opportunities when they come. It's been really nice to get some minutes and try and contribute to the team and what the club's trying to do. Hopefully that can continue.
