Soccer
John Eustace praises Derby squad’s resilience after win at Portsmouth
Derby boss John Eustace insists his players are prepared to “sweat blood” for the club after watching them secure their first three points of the season with a 0-2 win against Portsmouth at Fratton Park.
A goal in each half from Sammie Szmodics and Lars-Jorgen Salvesen was enough to give the Rams the points and Eustace was quick to praise his players’ resilience after a tough start to the season.
He said: “It’s just about keeping your head, keeping your nerve, not getting carried away with all the noise and the distractions which come with it when you don’t win games and you don’t perform very well.
“We haven’t been able to play a starting XI on any of our pre-season games or in any of our first three games.
“So, it’s just about doing the right things, believing in what you do and believing in the process. And that’s something I’ve always done over the course of my managing career and something I believe works.
“We’re delighted to get our first three points of the season, but nothing’s ever decided in the first month or two months. Last year we won one of our first 10 games and then we were 45 minutes away from finishing the play-offs. So, let’s just keep believing in what we’re doing.”
Pompey dominated possession and had 19 shots to the Rams seven, but Eustace’s side were ruthless when it counted and deservedly left the South Coast with three points.
Pompey boss John Mousinho said: “We were really sloppy with some of the things that we did. We gave the ball away too easily and it ended in us conceding the second goal on a counter-attack again and not being able to get back in the game.
“We created a couple of half chances. We had some set pieces and I think the first attack Derby had and the only shot in the first half ends up in the back of the net. We have to be a lot better at coping with those specific moments and also coping with disappointment.
“I thought we reacted okay in the first half, but the second half, I didn’t think we came out with any energy and any lively parts of our play.”
Derby took the lead after an excellent run down the right from Bobby Clark saw him pull the ball back to Szmodics who cleverly spun his defender and scored low into the near post on 16 minutes.
Though Pompey had 64 per cent of possession and 10 shots in the first half, they only managed one effort on target.
As Mousinho’s men continued to push forward, gaps were appearing for Derby at the other end.
Eustace had just brought on Salvesen for Rhian Brewster and with almost his first touch, the Norwegian scored his first goal since January as he received the ball from Oscar Fraulo and smashed it into the top corner from the edge of the area with his left foot.
