INTERVIEW: Eustace Notes ‘Improving and Evolving’ Rams Side Following Ipswich Loss

John Eustace reflects on his ‘evolving’ Derby County squad after the Rams were narrowly seen off in a ‘fantastic battle’ against Ipswich Town.

Derby were headed off to a 2-1 defeat by promotion-chasing Ipswich, who sit in third place.

The Tractor Boys got in front from a corner, which was steered in for a Lewis Travis own goal after jostling for position in the box.

Derby drew level in the second period after sustained bouts of pressure resulted in Bobby Clark winning a penalty that Rhian Brewster confidently converted - his second goal in as many games.

But the points were taken by Ipswich when Leif Davis’ powerful header finished off a quick turnover in the 77th minute – with later attacks from the Rams stemmed by the visitors, before Travis’ second yellow card saw the Rams reduced to 10 in added time.

Eustace spoke to RamsTV to review the performance against the third-placed Ipswich and reflected on a competitive performance despite the loss.

On Seeing a Competitive Performance

It was a fantastic battle and an exciting game with two good teams going toe-to-toe. So, I’m very proud of the effort of the group.

We are obviously disappointed to lose the game, especially with the softness of the goal; we missed a couple of duels before they got the ball out wide. So that was disappointing, but what an effort it was from the group of players today.

We ask to be competitive, that's why we ask from every player, every day in training. We train how we play, and today we had to be competitive against one of the best teams in the league.

On Seeing Progression and Positives To Take

I thought we battled really well; we showed some glimpses of real good quality. Our football is certainly improving as we evolve throughout the season. Today, we got some fantastic areas and just that final ball to let us down on the transition. But I think everyone can see the progression that we're making.

RamsTV also spoke with Derby’s goalscorer, Rhian Brewster, who expressed the passion and desire in the dressing room to put things right after defeat despite a positive performance.

On The 2-1 Defeat To Ipswich

Yes, I thought we dug deep today. We went into half-time a goal down. Obviously, it wasn't how we wanted to start the game. We take pride in set pieces, so it was disappointing to concede from that. I thought the boys stuck to the game plan well. We dug deep and won the penalty to make it 1-1. Then I thought we were the better team.

We had some chances, but maybe the final pass lacked a little bit today. Then, after they scored again, we were pushing for the goal to equalise, but we just came up a bit short.

On Seeing Improvements to Take Points On Home Turf

The results haven't been there at home a lot this season. It's for us as players to show character, show passion and show the quality that we can all bring, that we know we can bring (to change that).

We came up short today, but we're just going to keep fighting for the badge and keep going. We've got a week to prepare again for the next game against Swansea. We've got to put things right next week.