3/1 To Win
Derby County matchwinner Ravel Morrison was delighted to secure all three points for his side against Barnsley on an afternoon which was described as ‘must win’ by his manager Wayne Rooney.
And win was exactly what they did as Morrison’s double ensured the Rams recorded all three points over Barnsley which was enough to leapfrog them in the Sky Bet Championship table.
His first goal was a lovely nonchalant finish as he dinked Tykes goalkeeper Brad Collins to give Derby a first half lead.
His second came after skipper Tom Lawrence struck the crossbar and he smashed home the rebound to ensure all three points stayed in the East Midlands as the Rams moved to within five points of Reading.
Morrison, who scored his first and second league goals of the season, was pleased to play his part in the key victory.
“I’m buzzing to finally get on the scoresheet and it’s a massive three points for us and the club,” he told RamsTV.
“I thought the first goal was offside. The only reason I dinked it was because I thought it was offside so I just went for it. I looked over at the linesman and the flag was down so it was a massive relief.
“It’s always a joy to score. The main thing is that we win and take the three points so it’s massive for us.”
He added: “It was a must win game. I do believe we were better than them and we are better than them. That’s no disrespect to them.
“We look at the table with the points that we’ve got and the points that have been taken off us, we would be up there.
“We are all together and fighting for it.”
Fight is something which has been ingrained into the players from early on this season.
Despite a 21-point deduction imposed for entering administration and historical breaches of profitability and sustainability rules, Derby have fought back and are within five points of Reading who occupy the place above the relegation places.
“We have got a great bunch here,” Morrison admitted. “Loads of great players, all the staff, it’s nice going in every day because it’s a good environment.
“You have a lot of young boys keeping us old boys on our toes but they’re all very good as well. I have enjoyed it all season.
“We have been unlucky in some games, Cardiff for example the other night, but I thought we were the better team. We controlled the game but got beat, but we are a very good team.
“We build up well and we’ve all got each other’s backs and that’s the main thing. We are not focusing on the table, we are just enjoying ourselves every week and trying our hardest for the fans because they’re trying their hardest for us and being right behind us.”
