Two shots on target in an entire game of football doesn’t usually tell a lie. McClaren has a lot of work to do to return Derby to the top of the table.
The emotions could hardly have been more different. As David Wagner channelled the rip-roaring delight of his good friend Jurgen klopp, Steve McClaren looked on forlorn. You could almost see the umbrella.
Elias Kachunga’s dramatic 93rd-minute strike (below) brought an emphatic end to two successive defeats for Huddersfield Town while Derby County, possessing a much more expensive, a much more reputable squad, continue to rub shoulders with Wigan and Rotherham rather than Norwich and Newcastle.
But it wasn’t the result that united the divided Rams as one. Instead, the performance took centre stage in forums and social media debates. Unlike the free-flowing, attacking approach embodied by McClaren during his thrilling yet flawed first reign, Derby were cautious at the John Smith Stadium, mustering only two shots on target throughout 95 minutes.
McClaren called the defeat “cruel”, according to the BBC. Few will share his viewpoint. Huddersfield managed 21 shots to the visitors’ seven, with more corners, more possession.
The cautious optimism that greeted McClaren’s return from the majority can only withstand more performances like this.
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