Sibley: “We Have A Chance To Put It Right”

Attacking midfielder Louie Sibley is keen to put Saturday’s result against Reading firmly into the past as Derby County face Preston North End in the Second Round of the Carabao Cup on Tuesday evening (6:30pm kick off).

The Rams fell to a 2-0 defeat on Saturday following two goals in a five-minute spell at the end of the first half, which handed the game to the visitors.

Lucas Joao put Reading ahead, whilst on the stroke of half time Ovie Ejaria doubled the Royals’ lead as Derby tasted defeat on the opening day of the campaign for the first time since the 2008/09 season.

However, the Rams have the chance to put things right when they face the Lilywhites as the focus turns to the Carabao Cup once again.

Reflecting on Saturday’s game, Sibley told RamsTV: “Overall, the performance from the team wasn’t good enough on Saturday. We know that and we have spoken about it in meetings.

“All through the game, I just don’t think we were sharp enough or good enough and it wasn’t the start that we wanted.

“We still worked hard, it wasn’t as if we didn’t give it enough effort, but I think it was more that Reading sit off quite a bit and it was frustrating for the team.

“On Tuesday night we have a chance to put it right. We have worked quite a bit of things. We were in on Sunday and we looked at parts we need to improve on and we want to keep winning games.

“We need to have a good performance and take into the league game on Saturday at Luton.”

Preston are a team familiar to the Rams, as they beat their counterparts 1-0 at Deepdale at the end of last season.

Wayne Rooney’s free kick won the game for Derby that evening, but Sibley knows Tuesday’s game will be completely different to that one at the start of July.

“Preston are a good team,” he said. “We know that any team that we have played against in the league will be good. We are really looking forward to it because we know we didn’t get the best start.

“They are a threat from corners, they are a physical team and we are aware of that. Hopefully, we can get through to the next round of the cup.”