John Eustace hails Derby’s ‘fantastic’ character after win over QPR

Derby head coach John Eustace described his team’s character as “fantastic” after they beat QPR 1-0.

Eustace saw a committed and disciplined performance deliver back-to-back wins for the first time this season.

Although QPR had plenty of possession, they struggled to create against a well-organised team that always looked in control after Carlton Morris scored from close range in the 11th minute.

It was Derby who looked like adding to that with Max Johnston rattling the bar with a free-kick and Ben Brereton Diaz striking a post in the second half.

Richard Kone spurned Rangers best chance when he headed over from an unmarked position in the 61st minute and there was little else to lift the travelling support on a chilly afternoon.

Eustace was delighted with a second home win in the space of five days and said: “I thought it was a cracking win against a really good team.

“Very proud of the effort of the group, third game in a week, I thought we started really well and fully deserved the goal.

“Second half we dug in, we had to, they put on a lot of fantastic forward players. We defended really well although I was disappointed we couldn’t get the second on the transition which is something we’ve got to work on.

“I think the group’s character and attitude is fantastic. They are very much together, we are a family in that dressing room, and I also think it says something about the Championship which is such a difficult league to play in week in week out.

“It’s important not to get carried away with the highs and the lows, you are going to have bad games and bad performances but as long as you keep believing in the process which this group of players are doing, then that’s the most important thing for me.”

QPR head coach Julien Stephan had no complaints about his team’s first away defeat since August.

“I think Derby deserved their win. They started the game with more intensity, more ferocity, more physicality than us and they attacked well. We were not able collectively to react enough and to use the ball to create something so I think it’s very simple to analyse, they were better than us today.

“I’m disappointed, especially in the second half how we used the ball. We had a lack of clear ideas to find a good ball and to find a solution to create something, We had only one good chance in the game with Richard Kone’s header and that’s not enough to move a back five which is organised, we needed to move the ball more quickly.

“We needed to have more ideas and dynamics as well, both physically and mentally, to find a solution and that was not the case today.

“We have a very young team and a lot of players discover as well we need to play in three days in the Championship. We played on Wednesday away when it was a long travel and it was a long travel to come here so we need to learn from that, it’s not only a question of football, it’s a question of how we are able to play in three days physically and mentally.”