Derby head coach Paul Warne hailed his team’s 3-2 comeback win at League One promotion rivals Oxford as “magical”.
The U’s led 2-0 after 13 minutes when Cameron Brannagan converted a penalty then hammered in a 25-yard free-kick.
But the Rams fought back brilliantly.
Craig Forsyth gave them a lifeline by turning in a flick-on corner at the far post in stoppage time at the end of the first half.
And two goals in the last nine minutes from substitute Liam Thompson then Eiran Cashin sent Derby’s 1,700 fans into raptures as the Rams stretched their unbeaten run to nine games.
Warne said: “To win in the way we did was pretty magical. To win 3-2 like that was quite exciting!
“I thought we actually played very well in the first half too. Obviously we didn’t start the game well, conceding from a penalty and a free-kick in the first 13 minutes.
“But I thought we still had control of the game in the first half. The goal just before half-time proved a big swing. It changed the team talk, I won’t lie.
“I said to the team at half-time that we didn’t need to rush things, we had ages left to get back into it.
“I’m just really proud of the group. The game-changers came on for us and had a massive effect. We tried to press with a real energy and to win at another team in the play-off places is special.
“The fact that Tommo came on and scored with a brilliant header gave me a lot of pleasure too.
“It showed real character from us. If you want to be successful you have to win in different ways and we found another way to win tonight.
“We were thinking, coming here, about not losing because you don’t want a play-off rival to go six points clear of you – but we also came to win with an aggressive team and line-up.
“It was probably the most hard-earned three points we have had all season. But it was also a thoroughly deserved three points – I don’t think anyone in the ground would deny that.
“And I appreciate our fans sticking with us and really getting behind us even when we were two goals down. It was an exciting night and one we won’t forget.”
Oxford head coach Des Buckingham felt the timing of Forsyth’s goal had a big impact on the game.
He said: “I was very excited by how we started the game, and very frustrated by how we finished the game.
“We started extremely well. But it’s about starting and ending well, and putting it together for 90 minutes.
“We can’t switch off, as a collective, just before half-time like that. There were two minutes of added-on time and it was in the 48th minute, which was also frustrating.
“That goal came from a set-piece and the third goal came from a free-kick. That’s five goals against us in three games that have come from set-pieces. We’re not the biggest side, we know that, but we need to be cuter too.
“Derby are a good side – a big, physical side. But them bringing on five fresh experienced players made a difference. We had to make an enforced change with an injury to Tyler Goodrham, which we weren’t expecting to make.
“And we ended up trying not to lose the game rather than trying to win it.”
Jamaica, T&T drawn in Group B of League A for 2024/25 Concacaf Nations League
Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago are set to cross swords in the group stages of this year’s fourth edition of the Concacaf Nations League, as both were drawn in Group B of League A for the 2024/25 campaign which is scheduled to kick off in September.
This year’s Concacaf Nations League will again be contested in a three-league format –Leagues A, B and C –and will see the Confederation’s 41 senior men’s national teams doing battle during the FIFA match windows of September, October, and November 2024. The semi-finals and finals of the tournament, which serves as the qualifiers for next summer’s 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup, are scheduled for March 2025.
The teams have been grouped across the respective Leagues based on their results from the 2023/24 staging. The Reggae Boyz and their Soca Warriors counterparts, who contested the business end of the competition for the first time in that campaign, will be hoping to do so again on this occasion.
They are among 12 teams, split in two groups of six teams each to contest League A in a “Swiss style” league system, with each team playing a total of four games (two at home and two away).
Jamaica, last edition’s semi-finalist, and Trinidad and Tobago, who made the quarterfinals, are drawn alongside Honduras, Cuba, Nicaragua, and French Guiana, while Group A comprises, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Martinique, Guadeloupe, Suriname, and Guyana.
After group stage play in September and October, the first and second-place finishers of each group, will advance to the quarterfinals, where they will join the four top-ranked League A teams, Mexico, United States, Panama, and Canada. The quarterfinals will be played in a home-and-away format, with the winner of each fixture, on aggregate, set to secure a berth in next year’s Finals.
Meanwhile, League B will feature 16 teams divided into four groups of four teams. Each team will play every team in its group twice. The groups were drawn as follows:
Group A -El Salvador, Montserrat, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Bonaire
Group B -Curacao, Saint Lucia, Grenada, and Saint Martin
Group C -Haiti, Puerto Rico, Aruba, and St Maarten
Group D -Dominican Republic, Bermuda, Antigua and Barbuda, and Dominic
Matches in each group will be played at a centralized venue instead of the previous home-and-away format, to alleviate travel challenges that Member Associations face.
The third best-ranked teams in each group will host the September matches, the second best-ranked teams will host the October matches, and the best-ranked teams will host the decisive November matches.
Over in League C, which consists of nine teams, divided into three groups of three teams, the format takes a similar shape, where each team will play every team in its group twice.
Group A -Barbados, Bahamas, and US Virgin Islands
Group B -Belize, Turks and Caicos Islands, and Anguilla
Group C-Saint Kitts and Nevis, Cayman Islands, and British Virgin Islands
Where centralized venues are concerned, the second highest-ranked teams in each group will host the September matches, and the highest-ranked teams will host the October matches.
Schedule:
Group Stage: September 2-10, October 7-15, and November 11-19, 2024
Quarterfinals: November 11-19, 2024
Semifinals: March 20, 2025
Final and Third Place Match: March 23, 2025
Eriksen says Man Utd players must take blame for Selhurst Park rout
Christian Eriksen believes Manchester United's players must take the blame after their miserable season hit a new low with Monday's 4-0 defeat to Crystal Palace.
Erik ten Hag's injury-hit Red Devils were torn apart by Palace as Michael Olise scored a wonderful brace and was joined on the scoresheet by Jean-Philippe Mateta and Tyrick Mitchell.
United's 13th loss of the Premier League season – their most in a league campaign since 1989-90 (16) – leaves them eighth in the table and facing an uphill battle to qualify for Europe.
They have now conceded 81 goals across all competitions this season, their most in a single campaign since they shipped the same number in 1976-77.
While the manner of the defeat will only raise further questions about Ten Hag's future at Old Trafford, Eriksen says the players are primarily responsible.
"It's a big disappointment. We just had an off-day, and we weren't in it," the midfielder told BBC Sport.
"It is what it is. We can't really change the injury things. We have to do what we can on the pitch to change it. Today it didn't matter who we played, everyone could have done better.
"I don't know what the conclusion is for how it went. We weren't good enough. We tried to do what we could but we were not good enough. We'll take the blame as players."
Since the start of last season, only Nottingham Forest (five) have lost more away Premier League games by a margin of four or more goals than United (three), with the Red Devils also going down 4-0 at Brentford and 7-0 at Liverpool last term.
They now trail sixth-placed Newcastle United by two points and are behind seventh-placed Chelsea on goal difference, with fixtures against Arsenal, Brighton and Hove Albion and Newcastle to come this season.
'I will keep fighting' - Ten Hag adamant he is the right manager for Man Utd
Erik ten Hag insists that he is the right man for the job at Manchester United despite their 4-0 thrashing at the hands of Crystal Palace on Monday.
Michael Olise netted twice against a sorry United team at Selhurst Park, with Jean-Philippe Mateta and Tyrick Mitchell also getting on the scoresheet.
It is the first time that Palace have done the double over the Red Devils in the Premier League, as United extended their winless run on the road to five games.
There has been a lot of speculation over Ten Hag’s future following a disappointing second campaign in charge, with just one year left on his contract.
Asked if he was the right manager for United, he told Sky Sports: "Absolutely. If the right players are there and available, we have a good squad, but are missing the whole backline – we had problems.
"I will keep fighting. I prepared the team in the best way I could do. It was not good enough, by far – I have to take responsibility for that. But I will find energy and prepare them for Sunday’s game.
"At the end of the day, I have to do it with the players who are available. All season, we have huge [injury] problems. Many times we have sorted it out. Today we didn’t."
United have struggled with injury problems all season, with Harry Maguire and club captain Bruno Fernandes joining the lengthy list of players missing against Palace.
Ten Hag highlighted the lack of defensive options at his disposal but did not make excuses for the poor performance, adding: "It’s clear and obvious – this is underperforming. It’s not good enough. We are very disappointed in this. Our fans were behind us all the way – we should have kept fighting like the fans did.
"There are always reasons. Everyone sees our backline, we have huge problems, but at the end of the day we have to deal with it – we should have done better than we did.
"We know [how damaging it could be], but we have nine points to play, so we have to fight for the nine points."
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