LONDON, Jan 17, 2021 (BSS/AFP) – Wayne Rooney admitted Derby deserved a 1-
0 defeat to Championship relegation rivals Rotherham in his first match in
permanent charge at Pride Park.
Jamie Lindsay fired home four minutes from time as the Millers’ moved above
Derby, who slip to second bottom of the table.
It was far from an ideal start to his reign for the former Manchester
United and England captain, who gave an honest assessment of side’s under-
whelming performance.
“Today Rotherham outfought us,” said Rooney.
“Our quality on the ball and our concentration levels weren’t where they
should be.
“That’s the disappointing thing and, if I’m being honest, I don’t think we
deserved anything from this game.”
At the other end of the table, Norwich remain well on course for an
immediate return to the Premier League thanks to a fast start in a 2-1 win at
Cardiff.
Grant Hanley put the leaders in front after just four minutes, nodding in
at the far post after a flick on from a corner.
And it was 2-0 after 20 minutes as Todd Cantwell rounded off a slick
counter-attack by slotting into an empty net following a smart save from Alex
Smithies.
Joe Ralls gave Cardiff hope by thumping into the bottom corner from 12
yards after 65 minutes but the hosts were reduced to 10 men five minutes
later when Marlon Pack was shown a second yellow card and slipped to a fourth
successive defeat.
Swansea remain four points behind the leaders in second thanks to a
comfortable 2-0 win at Barnsley
Ben Cabango opened the scoring just before half-time before Jamal Lowe
doubled the Swans advantage with his 10th goal of the season.
Bournemouth are now four points off the automatic promotion places after a
1-0 loss at home to Luton.
The Cherries’ task was made more difficult when Jefferson Lerma was shown a
straight red card after 26 minutes for catching Tom Lockyer in the face with
a stray arm while competing for a header.
Bournemouth pushed to overcome their numerical disadvantage but Luton
capitalised as the hosts tired when Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall curled the winner
into the bottom corner 23 minutes from time.
Watford returned to the playoff places with a 2-0 win over Huddersfield.
Tom Cleverley gave Watford a 54th-minute lead by capitalising on indecisive
defending from Huddersfield.
Alex Vallejo attempted to pass the ball back to Ryan Schofield, who
hesitated as Cleverley closed in and beat the goalkeeper to the ball to slide
in from six yards.
Joao Pedro made sure of the points 10 minutes later, tapping in at the far
post from Kiko Femenia’s cross.
Sammy Ameobi struck twice as Nottingham Forest secured back-to-back wins
for only the second time this season with a 3-1 victory against Millwall.
Birmingham manager Aitor Karanka enjoyed a successful return to the
Riverside as Scott Hogan struck to earn the Blues a 1-0 win and prevent
Middlesbrough from moving into the play-off places.
A 1-1 draw did little to aid Stoke and Blackburn’s playoff hopes.