Jewell hails players

Derby boss delighted with 'terrific result'

By Steve Pass   Last updated: 2nd December 2008

Jewell hails players

Jewell: Delighted

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Paul Jewell hailed the mental and physical effort of his players after Derby beat Stoke with a last-gasp penalty to reach the semi-finals of the Carling Cup.

The Rams hit the woodwork twice via Kris Commons and Miles Addison before Andy Griffin handballed in the Potters' penalty area in injury-time and Nathan Ellington stepped up to send the Championship side through.

Jewell told Sky Sports News that it was a 'terrific result' on the back of a very poor performance on Saturday when they lost 3-0 away to Burnley when he believed they lacked mental courage and physical attributes.

"But they were all in abundance tonight and this proves that unless you match anyone physically and mentally you can't win matches," he said, adding that Stoke are a good side.

"But we stood up - we had a game plan you know," he said, adding they left three up on Stoke's usually devastating throw-ins and were "quite brave".

"We stuck at it, rode our luck, had a good opportunity ourselves and to score so late with such a cool penalty was terrific for our fans."