Clough Left Frustrated

With Derby 2-0 up and the match in injury-time, even against one of the npower Championship favourites we’d expect to see out the match and win. However, two injury time goals from QPR meant we had to settle for a 2-2 draw.

This frustrated Nigel Clough, however, the Rams boss also feels this sums up our season really.

“It’s frustrating. We played so well for so long and then we got punished at the end but that’s been the story of the last three league games.

There have been three good performances but we’ve not quite got our reward for them. We always felt that if the first one goes in it changes the game.

If you don’t concede it doesn’t give them the inspiration to throw everything forward and then anything can happen.

I thought that we should have finished it off and made it 3-1 in stoppage time but at the moment, we can’t finish games off and we can’t quite hang on at the other end.”

Due to an international break the squad are now going to Spain for a short break and Clough feels this will help with the disappointment of the points dropped even if it would’ve been better going into this with the three points. Overall he was more than happy with the performance though.

“They (the players) are going to have a few days in Spain so that will help them to get over this and it would have been nice to go into the break with three points.

But I think that when we sit down and analyse it and put it into context the performance today without a striker on the pitch in the second half and the effort that has gone in was absolutely magnificent.

We can’t ask any more from the players so that’s a good start and there was some good play and two very good goals so that gives us a lot of encouragement.”

Clough was talking to the media after the 2-2 draw.