Manager Mark Warburton has been reflecting on Nottingham Forest’s defeat to Derby County this weekend.
Making the trip to the iPro Stadium to face off against our derby rivals, despite losing the tie two nil, Warburton knew we had enough chances in the game to have taken something from it and in his mind all three points.
Speaking to the Official Forest Site as he met with the media following the game, with greater possession, chances on and off target compared to the hosts, Warburton knew the result should’ve been different.
‘The players are hurting. To give away a goal in the first minute is disappointing and although it was a great finish, we didn’t get close enough to Vydra. We responded really well to that, we dominated the play and we created chance after chance.’
He went on to add.
‘There are no excuses though as we have to take those chances. Goals change games and we can’t keep coming to tough venues, dominate the game, look really good but go away with no rewards. I can’t stand in front of our fans and say it was a good performance because we’ve lost 2-0 and I know how much it means to them. We’ve dropped three points today and, once again, we’ve conceded two soft goals.’
Chasing the game from the first minute, Warburton was pleased with the response and of course good opportunities fell to a number of players like Barrie McKay, Kieran Dowell and Jason Cummings, but they were all wasted all passed up goalscoring chances and Warburton believed the result could and should have been different.
‘The message to the players was to embrace the atmosphere, to enjoy the occasion and to play their natural game. So to come out and find ourselves 1-0 down after 24 seconds was a shock to the system. To their credit the players responded really well. Barrie goes through one-on-one with the goalkeeper and if he scores then it’s a different game because the home crowd were starting to turn on their players.’
He added.
‘We’re not blaming individual players because we’re missing chances as a team. I’m deeply frustrated for the players but also for the supporters because I know how much today meant to them. The lads are devastated that they couldn’t give them the right result in such a big game.’
Danny Fox was also speaking after the game and he knew Forest had needed to be smarter in how we managed the East Midlands derby.
‘Any game isn’t nice to lose but to lose to Derby is bitterly disappointing. For the fans, for the manager, for the lads and for everyone at the club. We created chances and Jason had a great chance just before they scored the second and if that goes in the game goes a totally different way.’
He went on to say.
‘In the first half I thought we were the better side, bar their goal. Jordan hasn’t had a lot to do bar pick the ball out of the net and take a few goal kicks. It was a sucker punch, the first goal, but I thought we reacted really well. Barrie has a great chance to make it 1-1 before the break and if it was a different scoreline at half time their crowd could have turned on them. We dominated the game and it is frustrating saying that as in the end, nobody cares. If you look in the newspaper or on the tele later on all you will see is the score. Three points is the most important and for all our good play, we need to be more ruthless.’
He ended by saying
‘We are all disappointed. We can’t say we played well as we didn’t win the game and three points were the most important thing. We need to be a bit cleverer and manage games a bit better.’
