3/1 To Win
Justin Walker felt there were come encouraging signs to take away from Derby County’s 3-1 defeat to Bristol City on Saturday afternoon.
After Derby’s relegation to Sky Bet League One was confirmed on Easter Monday, following a 1-0 loss at Queens Park Rangers, manager Wayne Rooney opted to shuffle his pack for the visit of the Robins to Pride Park Stadium.
Youngsters Louie Watson and Bartosz Cybulksi were handed starts, while Under-18s pair Darren Robinson and Carlos Richards were named on the bench.
Derby fell behind inside the opening ten minutes as former Ram Andreas Weimann broke the offside trap to finish beyond Ryan Allsop.
Antoine Semenyo doubled the visitors’ lead after the break while the Rams spurned a good chance to pull a goal back as Cybulski headed over from close range.
Derby got a goal back just after the hour mark as Malcolm Ebiowei’s superb right-wing cross was powerfully headed home by Rams defender Craig Forsyth for his third goal of the campaign.
Timm Klose netted a third for the visitors with ten minutes left to end any hopes of a Rams revival as Derby tasted defeat on home turf for only the fourth time this season in the league.
Walker, who holds the position of First Team Development Coach, told RamsTV after the final whistle: “We were quite disappointed with the tempo and the rhythm in the first half, but it was probably to be expected with the volume of changes which we made and people needed to acclimatise to the environment.
“I think we needed a little bit more self-belief which the manager instilled at half time, a bit more belief and positivity, and I think we started to push in the second half.
“The third goal killed it for us because we were chasing and pushing at the time and had some decent opportunities to get level.”
He added: “We have got the right characters and attitude and application in the squad.
“The manager has always said that if you get an opportunity, then take it. He’s not scared to give young players a chance and he’s shown that this year. I know circumstance dictates things at times but there has been an amazing opportunity for the young players this season.”
Derby were backed by over 22,000 supporters for the game despite their drop from the Championship already being confirmed earlier in the week.
After battling against the odds all season, mainly against the hefty 21-point deduction imposed on them for entering administration and a historical breach of profitability and sustainability rules, the Rams’ faithful turned out in large numbers and offered loud vocal support all afternoon.
“I think the fans have been amazing all season,” Walker said when asked about the backing from the stands.
“It’s been well documented and well spoken about and at the end of the day, we are responsible for giving them something to shout about.
“We are disappointed with the goals we conceded today and wanted to go out and give ourselves a better account of ourselves and I think we did that in the second half.”
Derby will hit the road in their final away fixture of the 2021/22 season next Saturday at Blackpool (3pm kick-off), before concluding the campaign with a home fixture against Cardiff City on Saturday 7th May (12:30pm kick-off).
