“We let ourselves down” – Lack of desire and a kick in the backside from Watford defeat

As the full-time whistle sounded at Vicarage Road, John Eustace clearly felt the need for some brutal honesty.

“We let ourselves down,” he told RamsTV, “We were too slow with the ball. Physically, we got beat up.”

This is about as harsh as we’ve heard John Eustace in his 50 games in charge, who even rejected opportunities to give a more upbeat slant. On BBC Radio Derby, he instead reaffirmed his view that Derby “weren’t competitive enough” over the 90 minutes.

So, in the interest of balance, here is my attempt.

The positives

-          Academy graduate Cruz Allen’s league debut

-          Some minutes in the tank for Carlton Morris

-          No further injuries

That’s about it, really. But the final one is even more important given that The Rams “picked up three or four injuries in the week”, with Lars-Jørgen Salvesen, Jaydon Banel, Liam Thompson and Danny Batth all missing out.

Yep, I’ve even managed to take a positive and spin it into a negative. Impressive, huh?

Maybe I just spend too much time on Twitter.

When Luca Kjerrumgaard gave Watford the lead inside five minutes it seemed that a milestone fixture for Eustace, facing a side he used to captain, could be the perfect opportunity to finally win after going behind.

After all, his side’s away form has been among the league’s best, and they had scored in a Football League-high 22 consecutive games. But the way The Hornets went in front would go on to sum up Derby’s day.

Othmane Maamma beat Joe Ward down the left before Edo Kayembe saw multiple shots blocked by Matt Clarke and Dion Sanderson. But with the defenders unable to clear their lines, Kjerrumgaard simply swept it into the middle of the goal past the powerless Josh Vickers.

The Rams’ response was “okay, nothing exciting”, according to Eustace. The closest they came to scoring was from set pieces whipped or floated across the six-yard box, which were begging for someone to tap them in.

But unlike the previous week’s victory over Swansea, the clinical edge was absent.

No longer absent, though, was Lewis Travis, who was back from suspension. But the Rams skipper is hardly the most progressive of passers and was too frequently marooned in the middle when Derby attacked.

In possession, David Ozoh would drop in between the centre backs to form a back three, as Ward and Callum Elder pushed up. Sam Szmodics would often drop to play alongside his former Blackburn teammate in a 3-2-5/3-4-3, but the disconnect between the defence and attack that Eustace spoke of seeing in the first half against Swansea was painfully evident.

Indeed, with Szmodics much more of a finisher than a playmaker, Derby’s attacking shape generally looked more like a 3-1-6. Meanwhile, there were less opportunities for Clarke to step up and start attacks from the back as he did in the win at Bristol City.

The abundance of attackers Derby play with is great when they have space to break into – again, think back to the 5-0 win at Bristol City - but Ed Still’s compact system afforded them little.

In contrast to Szmodics, Bobby Clark is more of a playmaker and more comfortable in deeper areas. He played a big role in linking play at Ashton Gate and was needed to unpick the defence again. Though Eustace may well still be managing his minutes after a groin issue having only brought him on in the 62^nd minute.

After the break, Derby upped the tempo, playing a more direct style with more physicality. But it would turn out that Watford had been playing with the handbrake on, and found another gear to maintain their dominance, albeit still with few clear-cut chances.

Though Vickers was forced to make one top-class save to deny Australian winger Nestory Irankunda from finishing a brilliant solo run with a goal.

The Rams’ best chance came after a one-two between Ward and Ben Brereton Díaz on the right before the former hung a cross up for Carlton Morris. With the ball dropping for him dead centre on the edge of the six-yard-box, a poetic equaliser was perfectly poised.

But Derby’s number nine is clearly still yet to get up to full sharpness following the injury he picked up in the reverse fixture, and it showed as he headed straight into the hands of Egil Selvik.

Mamadou Doumbia sealed the win for the hosts in the 90^th minute when flicked fellow substitute Marc Bola’s low cross into the bottom-right-corner. Their first victory in eight.

For John Eustace’s side, though, it was a “kick up the bum”. A reminder that when you are sixth, you have the target on your back.

This bad day at the office does not undo all of Derby’s good work, their progress in the play-off hunt. But now eighth, they do have a three-point gap to make up on Wrexham after their thrilling 5-3 win over Ipswich.

With a trip to fifth-place Hull to come on Tuesday night, they do not have long to lick their wounds. But sometimes a jolt can be useful ahead of another crunch clash.

Goals: Kjerrumgaard 5', Doumbia 90'.

Watford (4-2-3-1): Selvik (GK); Ngakia, Goglichidze (Pollock 86’), Abankwah, Mfuni; Louza (C), N. Mendy; Irankunda (Baah 68’, Bola 85’), Kayembe, Maamma (Chakvetadze 23); Kjerrumgaard (Doumbia 68’).

Unused Substitutes: Baxter (GK); Ekwah, Bove, Ince.

Derby (4-2-3-1): Vickers (GK); Ward, Sanderson, Clarke, Elder (Murkin 62’); Travis (C) (Allen 90+2’), Ozoh (Clark 62’); Brereton Díaz (Fraulo 78’), Szmodics, Brewster (Morris 62’); Agyemang.

Unused Substitutes: O’Donnell (GK); Forsyth, Gordon; Eames.