3/1 To Win
David Nugent came off the bench to pull one goal back for Derby County, but urged the Rams to ‘bring the fight’ from the opening whistle.
Nugent began the Sky Bet Championship clash against Millwall on the bench as he returned from a two-game absence while he dealt with a minor injury.
As he watched on, the Rams struggled to get into the game with their efforts to play out from the back quickly being shut down. Within the opening 20 minutes, Frank Lampard’s side were 2-0 down and the veteran forward wants to put the sluggish start right, quickly.
“I think we were moving the ball too slow in the first half,” Nugent told RamsTV.
“We can’t start games like that, the goals were really poor to concede. We came out the second-half and showed our fight, we seem to be the better team when we are behind at the moment.
“We need to start games well and in the second half try and stay in the game. Score the goals and give us the lead rather than trying to come from behind. It was a bit too late.”
Following the break, the Rams looked sharper and quicker and strung together a handful of decent chances.
Nugent, along with Mason Bennett who continues to make a difference off the bench, entered the match with 20 minutes remaining.
Immediately, the 33-year-old made a difference. He fed the ball through to Mason Mount in the box, but the young midfielder’s shot from a tight angle went wide. Moments later, Nugent latched on to a through ball from Craig Forsyth and fired it past Jordan Archer.
“The gaffer gave us a kick up the backside to go out there and move the ball quick,” Nugent said.
“’Johnno’ and ‘Brys’ were turning on the ball, Mason when he came on was getting on the ball. Mount was getting in the holes and feeding me and that’s what we need to do from the start.
“We can’t come from 2-0 down every week and try to resurrect wins. We have got to start Tuesday and we have got to show the fight.”
The Rams will return to Pride Park with games against Ipswich Town and Preston North End on Tuesday then Saturday.
With the league matches coming thick and fast, Derby have the opportunity to promptly get back on track.
“We need to put it right and win these games. We got beat but right around the corner we have got a chance to put a win on the board.
“Those games are vital. That’s what this league is about, it is relentless, but you get the chance to put a wrong, right. We have got that chance on Tuesday against Ipswich.”
