Derby 0-0 Aston Villa: Nigel Pearson and Roberto Di Matteo reaction
Saturday 27 August 2016 21:33, UK
Aston Villa manager Roberto Di Matteo believes his team are heading in the right direction after they were held to a goalless draw at Derby County.
The visitors were on top for long periods with former Villa goalkeeper Scott Carson denying Ross McCormack in the first half while Tom Ince wasted the best chance for Derby who announced they had signed Manchester United striker James Wilson on loan for the season.
Villa had dominated the opening 45 minutes in which Rudy Gestede suffered a hamstring injury and Carson tipped a 25-yard shot from McCormack against the bar before Gary Gardner saw a shot come back off the inside of the post.
Di Matteo was encouraged by the performance and said: "Away from home, a point is always a good point, especially at Derby, and I thought today we did everything that you need to do to deserve to win a game but fortune wasn't on our side.
"But I have seen a lot of positives again and I can see this group, how they are working on a daily basis and improving and we may be missing a few points but it's a long season and we'll get them back somewhere.
"I would be happy if we win a game with one chance and one goal but we hit the crossbar, the post, had a clearance off the line and hit the side net so I thought offensively we were very good and dominated the game for large parts of the 90 minutes.
"We created plenty of opportunities going forward and little details make the difference and we will keep working on those and I'm sure we will improve."
Derby improved after the break and had a great chance in the 48th minute when a mistake allowed Ince to run clear but his low shot was too close to Pierluigi Gollini.
The home side lost defender Craig Forsyth in the 66th minute and Villa were close to scoring three minutes later when Tommy Elphick met a McCormack corner but his half-volley was cleared off the line by Will Hughes.
Another McCormack corner gave Libor Kozak a great chance but he headed wide at the back post and former Villa striker Darren Bent was also off target in the closing minutes.
Derby manager Nigel Pearson said: "I thought we were a lot more positive (in the second half), we needed to be, it was very frustrating in the first half and we didn't play with any real composure or any sort of rhythm to us, there were a lot of unforced errors.
"What I am pleased about is at the minute it's marginal gains for us, we're not scoring goals and not creating a lot of opportunities but we've kept four clean sheets.
"When you look at where one or two of our weaknesses have been in the past, that's not a bad thing, and I think moving forward it will stand us in very good stead. I'm pleased with how the players are working hard and sometimes you have to play yourself into form."
Pearson said Wilson was unlikely to figure against Carlisle in the League Cup on Tuesday night but is excited at securing the 20-year-old.
He added: "He will bring some pace, desire to run in behind and will give us energy.
"When you consider the amount of interest there's been in a player like him I'm delighted we have been able to bring him in and hopefully we can provide a very positive experience for him."
