Miron's Derby Reaction

Head Coach Miron Muslic admitted to feeling deflated following Argyle’s 3-2 home defeat against Derby County, rueing a missed opportunity for Argyle to get closer to the sides above them in the Sky Bet Championship relegation battle. 

When Argyle clawed a 2-0 deficit back to 2-2, just after half-time, there was hope. Derby had led 2-0 in the first half via goals from Marcus Harness and Harrison Armstrong, but Mustapha Bundu got one back from a free-kick, and Callum Wright pressured Nat Phillips into an own-goal less than 30 seconds after the restart. 

Argyle went for it, with Muslic notably bringing on attacking midfielder Rami Al Hajj for defender Kornel Szucs in the closing stages, but it was Derby who found the winner, Harness scoring his second to clinch it for Derby, who started the day just two points above the Pilgrims, and ended it five away. 

It means, despite a win over Portsmouth in midweek, Argyle have lost two home games, on consecutive Saturdays either side of it, to Sheffield Wednesday and now Derby, conceding three goals in both home fixtures.

“I am very emotional and, to be fair, very down,” said Muslic. “We gave away the game. We were 2-0 down because we cannot defend two throw-ins. 

“We gave away so much against Sheffield, and we did it again today, but we managed to bounce back, to find a way back in the first half, and to start well in the second half to get back in the game, and get back to 2-2. 

“We tried everything to win the game, and we lost it again, after a long throw-in and three times the possibility to clear the ball and get it out of the danger zone. 

“It felt like a chance to get all three points. We tried, we took a risk – I think we should take a risk – but we simply could not reward ourselves.

“We went all-in in the last ten minutes. I think we have to do this. We wanted to win this game, especially at home against Derby. In the end we gambled, and we lost. 

“The response was fantastic (at 2-0 down), and you have to keep on going, and we did. But we gave it away, simply due to individual mistakes. These are big moments, and got immediately punished. 

“We knew it, and we’ve prepared to stop it, but we took wrong decisions, sometimes losing our head, losing our coolness, and you simply can’t, because you get punished.”

There is now two weeks without a game, as we head into the final international window of the season, and Miron is hopeful that the break in fixtures may give a chance for contemplation before the season’s run-in. 

“It’s now a moment to breathe,” he said. “We have to. Tonight, it feels very heavy, but we have to get up and try again. This is our responsibility, and we have to fulfil this responsibility.”