RAMS BROUGHT DOWN TO EARTH
FRANK Lampard was left frustrated as his Derby side were beaten by a battling Bolton Wanderers.
Despite dominating possession for long periods at the University of Bolton Stadium, Derby struggled to find a way back into the game after Craig Noone had given the home side a 10th minute lead with a well-placed header.
It was a disappointing afternoon for Lampard’s men who earlier in the week had dumped Manchester United out of the Carabao Cup at Old Trafford.
“It is very frustrating to lose after good performances in the last two or three games,” said Lampard.
“We did not show enough creativity. We weren’t at it with our passing and we weren’t crisp enough to get into the areas we normally get into.
“When you concede early against a team that will defend well as they did it makes the afternoon difficult.”
He added: “We have to get some consistency. That’s up to the players.”
Bolton’s win ended a run of five Championship games without a victory, as they denied the Rams the chance to move up to fourth in the Championship.
Noone struck for the Trotters in the 10th minute, when he headed home a Will Buckley cross from a tight angle.
Moments earlier, Derby had a lucky escape when a poorly judged back pass by Craig Forsyth ended up with Buckley, but Fikayo Tomori was able to recover and clear the danger.
Despite enjoying plenty of possession, Derby were unable to create a clear chance. In the 20th minute, Harry Wilson lined up a free kick from 30 yards out but fired tamely fired into the wall.
Buckley had a 32nd-minute penalty appeal waved away, after he appeared to be blocked by Jayden Bogle.
Seconds before half-time, Oztumer was narrowly wide with an ambitious snapshot from just outside the box after a mix-up in the Rams defence left goalkeeper Scott Carson flat-footed. Der- by upped the pace in the second half, but Bolton remained relatively untroubled while offering a threat on the counter.
Noone was narrowly wide with a first-time shot, then Carson had to get down quickly to save well from Buckley.
Remi Matthews, a late replacement for the injured Ben Alnwick, made a superb close save from Mason Mount in the last minute.
Bolton assistant manager Steve Parkin took the post-match press conference because Phil Parkinson had lost his voice.
He said: “It was an outstanding display against an outstanding team. I have been to watch Derby a couple of times over the last four weeks and I think Frank’s got a fine balance of experience and youth.
“We knew they had some extremely gifted players and we knew we’d have to be at our best and I think we probably were.
“The goal helped settle everyone. The spirit, drive and concentration of the team to do the job we set out to do was impeccable.”