Jack Marriott was superb in his first Sky Bet Championship start for Derby County but was disappointed the Rams didn’t leave Loftus Road with the three points they “deserved”.
The 24-year-old forward made a statement last week with his first Derby goal that gave the Rams the lead against Manchester United. Just over a week later and he grabbed his first league goal, handing Derby the lead against Queens Park Rangers.
“I want to score goals and I want to be in the team, but it was disappointing not to get three points,” Marriott told RamsTV.
“It was a good ball from Johnno, Brys [Craig Bryson] attracted away the defenders and it just dropped to me in the box. I took it first time and I thought if it hits the deck then the keeper is going to struggle because it was so slippery out there. It was a slick pitch, it was quite long then wet on top.
“It was a difficult game, but I think we played well.”
QPR found the equaliser just after the break when Geoff Cameron tapped in a cross by Nahki Wells. The goal came following a free-kick on the edge of the box that was given for a challenge by Fikayo Tomori, in which Marriott and the rest of the team were disappointed was given against them.
However, they utilised that to assert themselves and press for a winner. Despite it failing to come before time ran out, Marriott said the effort they showed until the final whistle typifies the character of the squad.
“We were all under agreement that it wasn’t a foul, but unfortunately that happens in games. Unfortunately, it happened for us today where were deserved the three points,” he said.
“The way we pressed until the end shows the character in the dressing room and desire and the want to win. We want to succeed, and it isn’t just one of us pressing, it is all of us. We are a tight group and we all want to do that.”
For the young striker, he has had to bide his time for his chance to start but is grateful of the competition and the opportunity to learn off the more experienced players, David Nugent and Martyn Waghorn.
He proved his worth against the R’s and hopes he can keep moving forward to give Frank Lampard an even more difficult job when it comes to picking the team. That hard work will be picked straight up again for the next two weeks on the training pitch as the Sky Bet Championship is put on hold for the second international break.
“We are working hard. We’ve had Nuge playing, Waggy playing and they are great role models for me. I’m just wanting to learn and wanting to play as much as I can and give the gaffer a problem when it comes to team selection,” he added.
“I’ll continue to work hard and be ready to go again in two weeks’ time.”
