The Rams took their second away point of the season in a 1-1 draw, just days after they picked up their first on the road on Saturday against Millwall at The Den. However, manager Warne was left more than frustrated with the manner in which his team started the game at the Kassam Stadium.
Dec Buckingham’s U’s side took the lead after just 12 minutes, turning in a low Idris El Mizouni cross. The home side looked the more likely to score again before the break with Tyler Goodrham’s firing in a powerful strike that only needed the deftest of touches to be turned in, and shortly after, he let fly from distance, with his shot going wide of Jacob Widell Zetterstrom’s post.
It was an eye-opening first 45 for Derby, who came out after half-time looking a lot more like their usual selves, and in the 55th minute they found the leveller through captain Nathaniel Mendez-Laing. Following confusion at the back for Oxford, he was able to smash in his first goal of the season past Jamie Cumming to earn the Rams a point.
Warne slams Derby’s first-half performance v Oxford
Although they were able to find the equaliser, the Rams’ first-half performance was a far cry from their normal standards.
They struggled at times to keep hold of the ball in midfield, completing just 78% of their passes while also allowing their opponents to get down the wings on several occasions, as per FotMob.
As well as that, Derby were wasteful when they got into good positions attacking-wise, hitting the target three times from seven shots, but they were not saves that required Cumming to move too much.
| Oxford United v Derby County Stats (FotMob) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Stat | Oxford United | Derby County |
| Possession | 52% | 48% |
| xG | 0.46 | 1.15 |
| Shots (On Target) | 11 (3) | 17 (4) |
| Pass Accuracy | 76% | 73% |
| Fouls | 8 | 8 |
| Corners | 1 | 6 |
| Offsides | 0 | 1 |
It was a showing that really disappointed Warne, with the East Midlands-based side possibly heading into the game seeing it as one that was potentially winnable considering the winless run that Oxford are currently on.
“The first half was horrific,” the Rams manager said after the final whistle. “We didn’t have any intensity, fire or aggression to our play and I could have made 11 subs at half-time.
“That was disappointing, but in the second half we were significantly better. I thought with a little bit of guile in the final third we could have won it. I leave here hugely frustrated taking a draw when our intention was to win the game. You can’t allow 45 minutes to get away like I thought we did tonight.”
Derby will be looking forward to home comforts
While Tuesday will leave the Rams with some feelings of regret, they can utilise that emotion and turn it into yet another fantastic home performance on Saturday against Hull City.
Derby welcome Tim Walter’s side to Pride Park at the weekend for another mid-table clash, with Warne’s team now three matches unbeaten. The Rams have been excellent on their own patch this season, winning four of their five games at home, keeping four clean sheets in those victories.
With captain Mendez-Laing now off the mark, there will be hopes that he can kick on and recreate some of his heroics from 2023/24, while Jerry Yates also scored his first goal in a Derby shirt last Saturday against Millwall.
It’s incredibly important for the Rams to pick up another three points with the club just five points above the relegation zone following Tuesday’s draw. Nevertheless, with the backing of the Pride Park crowd, Hull will be up against it this weekend, and they know the intensity that they will be greeted with in DE24.
