3/1 To Win
Gary Rowett was keen to pick out the positives as Derby County rounded off their pre-season games programme with a narrow 2-1 defeat to Bundesliga side Hoffenheim this afternoon.
Sandro Wagner’s late goal secured the victory for the Champions League bound German outfit at Pride Park Stadium.
His fine strike from distance came moments after Rams striker Matej Vydra had come off the bench to cancel out Lukas Rupp’s opener on the hour.
Rowett felt his side, gearing up for the 2017/18 Sky Bet Championship opener at Sunderland next Friday evening, gave a good account of themselves against top opposition.
One area of encouragement was the number of chances his side created against a side that finished fourth in the German top flight last season – but insists more positivity and belief is needed at the top end of the pitch.
Rowett told RamsTV: “I thought it was a good workout.
“It was excellent for us because you’re obviously not going to come across that type of ability and talent very often in a season.
“We tried to be brave and go right up against them in all areas and I thought in the first half, at times, we just lacked a little bit of conviction in one or two things that we did.
“That is understandable because you don’t want to go too tight with players like that because they will just play round you.
“When we used the ball well during the first half, we got into some good positions.
“That was the case second half when we put good pressure on them and showed real intensity to create problems for them.
“We had five or six good chances and we missed a penalty as well. That was the positive thing for me, we did create chances against a top European team.
“We know that maybe at the top end of the pitch we need a bit more positivity and belief.”
Rowett also felt Derby defended well when they had to against Hoffenheim’s strong attacking quality.
He felt as well as displaying solidity as a defensive unit, he was also pleased with the physical strength of his back four.
Andre Wisdom and Curtis Davies’ signings have added height and power to the backline, in addition to Craig Forsyth’s return from injury.
He said: “I thought we defended really well and can see that we’ve got that solidity in the team that we were looking for and that little bit of physical strength as well.
“I though Andre Wisdom was excellent defensively and the pick of the bunch.
“We did a lot of good things, but again, you’re going to get tested in lots of different ways against sides like this.
“There were lots of good things, some difficult periods where we could have pressed harder but it’s not easy when you’re playing against a good team.”
