REACTION: Eustace and Banel React After ‘Magical’ Victory

John Eustace described a game of ‘magical moments’ for Derby County as his side swept to a late win at Queens Park Rangers.

An 88th-minute moment of brilliance from Jaydon Banel saw the Rams complete a comeback to secure all three points in West London, having twice fallen behind.

Eustace spoke to RamsTV after the dramatic late turnaround at the MATRADE Loftus Road.

On Taking Three Points from West London

We're feeling great. It's a fantastic victory. Very proud of the efforts of the group today. We made a couple of changes to try to give us a bit of energy to freshen things up.

Really important that the boys who played on Tuesday, who were excellent for us on Tuesday, were rested and could impact (from the bench). And I think that's certainly worked today.

On Showing a Never-Say-Die Attitude

We've done it all season, even in the first 10 games when the results weren't going our way, we still found a way to perform and be competitive. The group has grown throughout the season. The connection with the fans and the players is getting stronger and stronger.

I think they really appreciate the effort that every one of the players wearing the shirt puts in week in, week out. And today probably summed our season up; at times it was difficult, but then there were some magical times as well.

This Derby County family, the fans, the players, the staff, we stick together, and we fight to the end. And today's another great example of that.

On the Winning Goal from Jaydon

Outstanding goal. Jaydon was really disappointed not to start. But again, his metrics on Tuesday were off the scale because of the work he did without the ball for us.

For that first hour, we let the lads get through it and battle away. And then let's get that magic player on and make something happen. We've got half an hour to go where he's fresh.

And I think he and David Ozoh certainly did that. Fozzy coming on in the last half an hour as well, just calmed things down and allowed us to play a little bit more. He was excellent again.

On Feeling Momentum Building in the Second Half

The players and staff on the bench are always really positive and believe in what we're doing. So, the momentum from all over, the fans, the players, the staff, was certainly there.

They had a number of chances in the first half, and Jacob was top, top, top. And that's why he's an unbelievable goalkeeper, and that's why it's so great that we've got him back these last few games.

We asked for every player to make a match-winning contribution, and that's his job. A couple of the saves in the second half were exceptional. It's about the squad and everyone doing the right thing.

We gave Oscar a second start for him. He's learning about the Championship, he's growing, and he's made a huge contribution with the goal, which is great. And it's about helping him grow, and next season it'll be the same, keep giving him the minutes, keep seeing a really good, exciting young player.

Goalscorer Banel also caught up with RamsTV after his match-winning moment.

On Scoring the Winner

Amazing, amazing feeling. After the 2-2, I believed, ‘this is our moment to come back’ and we did that. I just trusted in my quality, and today I am proud that I showed that.

On Making the Impact from the Bench

The gaffer was confident that I could make an impact today, and it was just giving me positive vibes, and that showed.

On Feeling the Energy of the Game

We turned it around, there was a good energy in the group, and I'm so proud of the team. We had to trust our quality today, and that's what we did at the end. Just pure passion and character we showed, and that's what made us win today.

On Fighting Until the End