Derby County suffered a 2-1 defeat at Queens Park Rangers at the Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium on Tuesday in what was a frustrating game.
Martyn Waghorn’s header cancelled out Grant Hall’s opener for QPR, but a second-half strike from Ilias Chair gave the hosts all three points.
Here is how we rate the Derby players:
Ben Hamer 5: The on-loan goalkeeper struggled playing out from the back. He made one fine save in the second half but should have done better with QPR’s winner.
(Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images).
Andre Wisdom 6: Wisdom didn’t get forward much. Defensively he was fine. Another solid all-round performance and reliable on the ball.
Curtis Davies 5: The 34-year-old struggled on the ball. QPR targeted him and pressured him into making mistakes. He won headers but looked slow.
Max Lowe 7: Derby’s best defender on the night. Lowe got forward, but in an excellent cross which Waghorn should have scored. Defensively, he was excellent. Six tackles and four interceptions topped both charts on Derby’s side.
Graeme Shinnie 5: The Scot never really got going. He notched a team-high 87.8% pass-accuracy rate but too many went sideways or backwards. Too cautious.
(Photo by Nathan Stirk/Getty Images).
Max Bird 8: Derby’s best player on the night. It’s becoming a common theme too. The 19-year-old is adding creativity to his solid defensive game. Four key passes. He didn’t deserve to be on the losing side and is seemingly getting better with each passing game.
Cut out the stupidity at the back and we can win this. Didnt deserve to be losing but you panic everytime a cross goes in or Curt is playing out. Marriott needs to do more than hang on the last man. Bird is brilliant #dcfc #dcfcfans
— Chris Smith (@cspaceram) February 25, 2020
Tom Lawrence 6: Helped out defensively and has massively improved in this regard. Four tackles and three clearances. Going forward he was somewhat subdued.
Wayne Rooney 6: By his high standards, this was Rooney’s worst game since joining the Rams. Some good passing but ineffective in the number 10 role. Must share the blame for QPR’s second goal.
Martyn Waghorn 7: Excellent equalising header but missed two gilt-edge chances. He should have scored a hattrick. However, the former Ipswich Town man must be commended for getting in the right positions. All-round play was good.
Waghorn should of had a hat trick tonight #dcfc
— joe hill (@JoedcfcHill) February 25, 2020
Jack Marriott 5: Kept quiet and didn’t manage to link-up play effectively.
(Photo by James Williamson – AMA/Getty Images).
Also see: QPR boss Mark Warburton makes sweeping Derby claim after recent encounter
Also see: ‘I will get better’: Derby ace promises improvement with more playing time