Newly-appointed Derby County captain Conor Hourihane was left disappointed by the big moments during their 2-1 defeat to Wigan Athletic at Pride Park Stadium.
The Rams were beaten on the opening day of the 2023/24 Sky Bet League One campaign, despite a largely positive performance against the Latics, courtesy of a Charlie Wyke double.
Both Wigan goals came during periods in which Derby were on top and they were left ruing missed chances and mistakes as they came away empty-handed from the season’s curtain raiser.
But Hourihane was keen to highlight the positives from his side’s performance in front of nearly 30,000 at Pride Park Stadium when he spoke to RamsTV after the match.
On the opening 90 minutes of the season…
It’s very disappointing to lose the game. We didn’t come into today envisaging a defeat but I felt the performance was decent in the main. They had a couple of chances, mostly from our mistakes, and they put them away. They were at big moments in the game, too, especially the second one because that was at a time when I thought we were on top. After we equalised, I felt like the last 20 minutes could have been a bit of an onslaught from our perspective but their goal killed our momentum. The big moments were a killer but in terms of performances I thought we were alright, however we want the points on the board.
On the fine margins in the game…
There were some similarities to matches from last season where those went against us. They’re not a bad side, history shows that they’re very good at this level. We knew it wasn’t going to be easy but hopefully we can learn lessons from today. Tight games went against us a bit last season and we need to start turning that on its head a little bit and changing those defeats into wins. In terms of the performance, I felt like we showed a lot today to build on. There are positives in terms of pressing, winning the ball back high, sustaining attacks and getting balls in the box. I felt we did ok with those but the little things didn’t go for us, so hopefully we learn from today and move on.
On the occasion of the opening day…
Looking back at the first game of last season, it was a really historic and memorable day so we wanted some of the same today. Unfortunately, it hasn’t gone like that for us. Last year we won on the opening day and finished outside the play-offs, so hopefully today won’t mean a lot come the end of the season. There’s a long way to go and a lot to play for, so it’s about learning from today and becoming stronger.
On being named captain this week…
It’s a big honour to be voted captain by the rest of the squad. I’m a big one for having high standards and professionalism around the training ground, which I feel reflects on the pitch. It’s an honour for me and hopefully we can have a successful season with me as captain. It was special for me to bring my kids out with me as I led the side out. It’s a day to remember but I’d have loved to get a result to go with it. It’s a day that I’ll look back on with fondness come the end of my career, and they are special moments to share with my family.
On the week ahead…
We want to get a result and get to winning ways as quickly as possible, starting on Tuesday against Blackpool in the Carabao Cup. Then we go on to Burton Albion at the weekend which won’t be an easy game and is a bit of a local derby. It’s important for Tuesday night to get ready, recover and put in a good performance and win the game to bounce into the Burton match.
