David Nugent felt Derby County’s resilience as a squad came to the fore and was the defining factor behind their hard-earned, but well deserved, 2-1 victory over in-form Norwich City.
The 32-year-old, himself, opened the scoring on the cusp of the interval by superbly bending in a fine effort from the edge of the Canaries’ penalty area – a goal that saved the players from a tough half time team talk from Gary Rowett, according to the forward.
In a pulsating second half in East Anglia, Timm Klose guided a left-wing cross into the back of the net as the hosts capitalised on a strong spell to breach the Rams’ stubborn backline, but the visitors responded once more and edged back in front through Sam Winnall’s close-range finish after he had been introduced as a substitute.
This win extends Derby’s winning run to three matches, means they are unbeaten in six, and have also ended Norwich’s eight-game undefeated sequence dating back to August.
And whilst Nugent says the Rams’ defence was ‘different class’ at Carrow Road, he also insisted, to a man, everyone fulfilled their duties when the chips were down and they had to deal with the Canaries’ pressure.
He told RamsTV: “Our record here in previous seasons hasn’t been very good, but we showed a good resilience today and maintained our good form.
“It was tough. I thought over the first 45 minutes they put a lot of pressure on our backline, but we managed to see it through.
“We started to get into the game a bit more after that and just before half time, we got the goal. The gaffer had said that he was going to give us a rollicking, so in that sense, the goal saved us from that team talk.
“We wanted to get on the ball more, get more passes in the final third and try and get in behind them.
“We didn’t do that enough over the first half. The second half was a grind and when they got the equaliser it felt like Brentford away all over again.
“That said, I thought our defence was different class again today. They won everything in the air and we have managed to nick it right at the end through Sam (Winnall) who had a big impact when he came on.”
He added: “It’s always difficult away from home. We struggled at the start of the season, but we have shown that we have that resilience defensively and that’s something that everyone has to chip in to – even the forwards!
“I was absolutely knackered when I came off, but that’s what you have to do.
“You have to give it your all and you have to expect the substitutes to come on and do the same thing. They did that today.”
And what about his fine goal?
There’s no doubt that it is one of best the former England international has scored in a Rams shirt since joining from Middlesbrough in January 2017, but how did the man himself feel about it?
“It’s always nice when they go in,” Nugent said.
“When the ‘keeper dives like that and doesn’t get anywhere near it, it makes that little more special.
“It was a nice goal. I wouldn’t put it in my top 10! There’s no doubt it was a nice goal though."
