Paul Clement felt that Derby County’s players showed great character to come back from behind twice to earn a 2-2 draw against table-topping Brighton & Hove Albion.

Paul Clement felt that Derby County’s players showed great character to come back from behind twice to earn a 2-2 draw against table-topping Brighton & Hove Albion.

Bradley Johnson and Chris Martin scored at the end of either half to cancel out goals from James Wilson and Rajiv van La Parra for Chris Hughton’s side.

Martin scored in the closing minutes of the game from the penalty spot following a foul on substitute Johnny Russell to earn a share of the spoils at the iPro Stadium.

Clement was pleased with the way his side responded on both occasions to falling behind, especially during spells when Derby were enjoying good spells of possession.

The draw means that the Rams remain firmly in the promotion race but have dropped a place to fourth after Hull City defeated Bolton Wanderers at the KC Stadium.

 

He told Rams Player HD: “We certainly didn’t deserve to lose the game based on the chances we created.


“We showed great character to get back into the game having gone behind twice - especially with their goals coming against the run of play.


“The first was a sucker punch and it took us a bit of time to get back into the game but we finished the half strongly.


“The second half was much more of a cagey affair. It was more tactical, a little bit cat and mouse and the tempo dropped. It picked up in the last 15 minutes.”

He added: “It was important that we didn’t lose the game because that would have put them seven points ahead of us in the table.


“That’s a fairly big gap – even at this stage of the season – so with Middlesbrough drawing and Hull winning it has made it very compact at the top.


“Although we are disappointed not to win it is important to remember it wasn’t a loss - it was a valuable point and it keeps us in and around where we should be.”

Martin hadn’t scored in his previous six games but showed great calmness when it came to scoring his ninth goal of the season.

Clement has been impressed with the all-round game and he was pleased to see the frontman and captain step up to the plate at a big stage of the game.

He said: “Strikers love to score, that’s what their jobs are.


“Chris’ all round contribution was very good today. He held the ball and led the line really well. He can be happy with his contribution and I am sure he was delighted to get a goal too.


“It was a big moment in the game when we got the penalty.


“After that you’re not sure whether you are going to get anymore big chances so Chris handled the pressure really well to slide it home.”




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