How much better was that?

Who weren’t trying? Got to say I think the efforts always been there just been playing with weaker / not as fit players than last season

 

Tbf before tonight Derby had the second meanest defence in the division average less then a goal a game conceded. So to get two and nearly get a couple more was a good effort imho.

 

Who cares, enjoy the moment. I’m pretty sure Bristol weren’t bemoaning our onslaught in the second half.

 

It was the inverse of our usual performances - good for 70 minutes, crap for 20. That’s clearly a huge improvement, but another 20 minutes like that against better teams (Shef Utd) means we’re still in lots of trouble.

 

Couple of decent shots tipped over the bar.

 

It was more enjoyable because we won. But I thought we showed more fight than in any other game. A lot more. Which also made it much more enjoyable.

It's the manager's job to motivate the players, but I think some of those that played last night should be questioning themselves too. They clearly didn't believe in the manager but ultimately they're representing the club and the town and they're capable of more than they've been giving. Not all of that can be blamed on Schopp.

 

I thoroughly enjoyed the match. I've only seen us at home so far, but we looked a different side from previous outings. Much more energy and nowhere near as laboured as we were under Schopp. Great to see both wing backs getting into the danger zones and playing on the front foot.

Iseka gets better every game and looks to be a real find. I'm looking forward to seeing him and Morris in the same line-up.

Gomes also looks quality. Comfortable on the ball and tides things up well. Just needs a bit of shooting practice.

Nice to see Victor score. Bloke near us in the East Upper had just been rubbishing him at the top of his voice, and said he wasn't good enough for non-league. Always nice to see gobshites proved wrong.

 

Loved the way Iseka celebrated his goal with the fans in the Ponty and all the rest of the team came over too. Would have been a real sucker punch if that last Derby attempt had gone in, I truly think if Schopp were still here it would have. We were due some luck.

 

I wouldn`t think anyone would claim that we are suddenly fine and have no concerns but to say we were awful in the last 20 minutes is unfair. We didn`t concede - which we have been doing, we won and held out against a team that is in a false position due to their owners and have ,at least on paper, playing assets that are far more valuable than our lads.
I see a bit of progress.

 

I'll take results for now. Great performances can wait if we can win ugly for now.

 

Have to disagree. We didn't allow them to get in behind us so easily like we have time and time again. That played a big part. It was the one thing that Schopp had to solve, and he failed to do it over 15 games, with two international breaks to work with them.

I don't think many teams will give our midfielders the same amount of time and space as Derby did though.

 

Hard to say with the last paragraph. They largely were so deep that it's unlikely many teams would press that far out for fear of being passed through. The second goal came when they left themselves exposed as it happens. Woodrow inhabited the space in front of them & while he had a poor game he probably allowed them that space to some extent & the attacks were down the flanks. Was hardly text book, but we scored 2 & WON!!!

 

I can see some parallels, but the one encouraging thing for me was we didn't look like we could concede from a simple hack down the line last night, like we did under Schopp.

I'm not getting too carried away, because I know Schopp's defensive setup was just one of a number of issues, and we're probably still more likely to go down than go up. But him leaving certainly helps our chances.

The game actually reminded me of Birmingham away last season. Went behind, then got back into it with a soft(ish) penalty, and won with a deflected goal. At a time when it felt like we'd lost as soon as we conceded one because we never came from behind to win. Who knows what might've happened if that penalty wasn't given.

You need some luck, which Schopp didn't get. But you also need some ability to set a team up, which he seemed to lack as well. As per the Richie Benaud quote, you need 90% luck and 10% skill. But don't try it without the 10%.

 

Luck may have been on our side when Derby hit the bar, but no more than the luck Derby had when Jagielka nearly scored an own goal in the first half. In fact, Derby had more luck, as Jagielka's 'effort' was actually on target!

 

I've got about 20 minutes left to watch.

The differences up to 70 minutes... we've taken chances. Our line was no way near as high. The wing backs actually tried, which is a bit sad that they hadn't for Schopp.

Not a huge difference. But its a relief to get points.

If Schopp had still been coach, you wouldn't be surprised that Adeoboyejo's shot for his goal deflects to safety instead and one of Derbys other efforts goes in. Certainly had some luck. But we've certainly had plenty of games where we had no luck at all.

 

If you were Schopp you might feel this was coming. The truth is it is small margins, but the side was set up to allow the wing backs to push on & midfield to hold solid. I wish Schopp all the best. He could still have a career in management, but it was time for a change.

 

Its a cruel game is football. I thought we were very unlucky not to get more at Bristol too.

 

Agreed. Lots of fine margins everywhere. I wanted Markus out after Blackpool. The Bristol game was the nearest he came to turning it around. Football is a confidence game. Managers get paid more than you & I will earn in 10 years & they live & die by results. I'm hard pressed to defend Markus, based on those results, but I wish him well. Victor hadn't scored in 38 starts, but laced his boots up & got on with it.