Derby County manager on buckling under pressure, not scoring when on top and a penalty decision not given their way

Goalkeeper Will Norris of Peterborough United claims the ball against Derby County. Photo: Joe Dent/theposh.com.

Derby County manager Paul Warne was disappointed his side buckled under severe second-hallf pressure from Peterborough United at the Weston Homes Stadium on Saturday.

The Rams dominated the first-half which ended goalless, but the inevitable Posh reaction after the break was too much for the visitors as goals from Ephron Mason-Clark and Nathanael Ogbeta secured a vital 2-0 home win.

Posh remain seventh just a point behind fifth-placed Bolton and sixth-placed Derby with eight games to go. Derby have now lost three of their last four League One games and they host third-placed Ipswich Town next weekend.

Warne felt his side played well enough to gain a point and referenced a second-half incident when there were appeals for a penalty after a challenge by Posh defender Frankie Kent.

Josh Knight of Peterborough United in action with Nathaniel Mendez-Laing of Derby County. Photo: Joe Dent/theposh.com.

Warne said: “The disappointment is our play deserved more than we got from the game, but we’ve got eight games to go and it is still in our hands.

“Peterborough hung in there in the first half when the pressure was on them, but we couldn’t do that when the pressure was on us.

“In the first half it looked a lot more like the Derby County I know and it made Darren Ferguson change his system after 30 minutes.

“At half-time we told the lads Peterborough would come at us and when that happened we didn’t defend resolutely enough.

“They scored the first goal with their first shot on target which lifted the crowd and we had to get more and more gung ho.

“I put as much attacking prowess on the pitch as I could in the second half as it looked like we lost a bit of intensity.

“Harvey White is 100% adamant he should have had a penalty, but we’re in that little rut at the minute where we’re not getting things.

“Tom Barkhuizen’s header just over the bar at 1-0 is a pretty gilt-edged chance. In key moments you need something magical to happen, but it just wasn’t to be today.

“We had a really good week with the lads and our performance levels were significantly better than they were last Saturday.

“In that respect I was pleased but I didn’t feel we had enough in the final third and didn’t create enough chances when we were on top.”