Town boss Mick McCarthy felt the “magnificent” Tommy Smith had no apology to make, despite his error leading to Derby’s goal in their 1-0 victory over the Blues at Portman Road. Chris Martin seized on Smith’s 57th minute mistake to win the points for the Rams.

“They’ve got a good side and the reality is that it probably should have ended up 0-0 but we’ve made a mistake and it’s cost us,” McCarthy said.

“That’s ended up being the difference between the two teams, from somebody who has been magnificent.

“Tommy came in and apologised, there’s no apology needed, get over it, we all make mistakes.

“Maybe the conditions had a bit to do with it, blowing and he couldn’t get a head on it and diverted it [into Martin’s path]. Once we let it bounce there was trouble then.

“But I thought the game was going nowhere, it was a nothing game, no spectacle by any stretch of the imagination. We made a mistake and somebody’s capitalised on it.”

Smith also apologised to fans on Twitter: "That one mistake cost us. Sorry."

The Town boss was adamant his team ought to have been awarded a spotkick when Jay Tabb’s cross hit Richard Keogh’s arm just before the goal: “I know you’ve asked Steve and he said it was never a penalty. I think I’m going to lend him these [holding up his glasses]. I don’t understand after the game has gone.

“He’s got his arm out here and it’s a penalty. Well, I think it’s a penalty, but it’s obviously not because the referee hasn’t given it.”

He also felt John Eustace - red-carded in injury time - ought to have been dismissed after his clash with David McGoldrick just before half-time.

“Likewise I asked the referee [Kevin Wright] at half-time and he said he thought it was an accidental collision,” McCarthy added.

“I have to tell you I committed some accidental collisions in my career. I waited to see, it’s violent conduct from the side, he’s come in and barged him.

“That might have changed the game, it might have ended 0-0, lots of stuff might have happened as well.

“What even irked me more was that Didz then rolled over and tangled his legs with him, whether or not that was on purpose, and he got booked and we lost an opportunity to break on them.

“I found that very strange, actually, it was a clear barge from the side. Had he been booked already? He would have had to go off. It was a foul.”

Overall, he thought there was little between the teams: “A draw would probably have been a fair result. I don’t think there was a lot in it.

“They did have a mature away performance, as Steve has said, they’ve not conceded a goal so I think it was a mature performance.

“I think they maybe shaded bits of it and had some better opportunities than we did, but they didn’t score from any of them and neither did we and it’s a mistake which has changed the game ultimately.”

He felt the game suffered from its big build-up: “Maybe, it was a bit of an occasion here. We’ve been doing all right and we’ve been talking all week about it, it’s built the game up.

“Maybe neither team performed as well as they could. But they’re the away side, they don’t have to force the issue and they’ve nicked a goal through a mistake and if it was me I’d be saying exactly the same as Steve, that it was a really good away performance.”

He says Cole Skuse is in with a chance of facing Southampton in the FA Cup on Wednesday: “Possibly, he was poorly, Skusey.

“We didn’t know whether he’d be all right today but he wasn’t, he was actually a little bit worse. I don’t know, might be, might not be. No new injuries, to my knowledge.”

Derby manager Steve McClaren felt it was his team’s best away display for a while: “For a long, long time. This was a tough place to come, we knew that from last year and it was what I call a mature performance. That maturity of knowing how to win these games.

“Sometimes we’ve been a little bit naive, sometimes we’ve not got the result through our naivety but today we stood up, we were men, we stood up to the physical challenge, the directness and defended very well as a team and played when we had to.

“After the first 10 or 15 minutes we grew into the game. I think Will Hughes was a big part of that. Out of all the frenetic and frantic play and what was going on he was the one who got his foot on the ball and created that calmness.

“So, for me, it was a performance that we’ve been looking for from the team and we got it today.”

The ex-England boss dismissed Town’s penalty claim: “I’ve seen it on the replay and it wasn’t a penalty, he pulled his arm away to avoid it. There was no deflection or anything.

“I thought the referee was excellent today, even though he sent off John Eustace. I thought his handling of a difficult game was very good.

“I think he got every decision more or less right. Mick will probably disagree, but from our point of view I thought he was excellent.”

Photo: Action Images

ArnieM added 15:36 - Jan 10 McClaren s comments regarding the ref confirms it then.. ... The ref travelled with the away team! Biased koont!
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DurhamTownFan added 15:37 - Jan 10 I can see plenty of angry comments coming from poeople about the referee. This game though has been and gone: let's not let the negativity affect the mood vs Southampton, where a good performance will do wonders for our confidence to bounce back in the league.
13

carlo88 added 15:38 - Jan 10 I've seen it about ten times and I don't think it was a penalty either actually. They should have been down to ten men first half though.
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bluefeast added 15:39 - Jan 10 Mclaren is a madman. To big up the ref when hes cleaarly been terrible is an insult. However we were not really at the races ,we never looked in control and we huffed and puffed and thats about it really.
8

Jimmy86 added 15:40 - Jan 10 Well Mclaren you would be pleased with the performance of the ref as you clearly had him on your side. It was as stone wall a penalty as you'll ever see in your life!!! Such a poor ref it was unreal.
3

Michael11 added 15:41 - Jan 10 Tommy has scored a lot of goals for us which have won games so he has no reason to feel bad. He's been solid as a rock since returning to the first team. I'm not surprised that McLaren was so happy with the referee's performance, he'd probably paid him enough for it. Eustace should've been sent off an hour earlier than he was and a stone wall penalty not given. Disgraceful.

10

bangortractor added 15:41 - Jan 10 Yes wally with the brolly, the referee was excellent from your point of view coz his two biggest howlers went in your favour. Here, have my specs too!!
10

TimmyH added 15:48 - Jan 10 Tommy's played well since he's got back in alongside Berra and scored a few - unfortunately just one of those 'shouldn't have let the ball bounce' mistakes which I've seen him hoof away many a time. As for the penalty - still can't tell whether it was his chest or arm, either way it wasn't intentional, and people who have been saying the ref was diabolical are just looking for excuses. The team generally under performed and part of that was down to Derby, they were not great but just did enough thanks to our mistake.

6

Flewitt85 added 15:49 - Jan 10 HOW CAN YOU SAY IT WASN'T A PENALTY!! yes it wasn't deliberate but it doesn't have to be. The ball was going into a dangerous spot and probably into a scoring position. penalty all day for me.
-4

westernblue added 15:55 - Jan 10 Thought it was a good game to be the away team, with the teams mostly cancelling one another out. Derby were not impressive but they never really looked like losing. I'm sure MM would love more craft in central midfield, and that might make a crucial difference. Anyway, all of us must surely be enjoying the season!
5

toxtethblue added 15:59 - Jan 10 He pulled his arm away but only after he'd stuck it out!! Quite crafty really. And the ref bought it. He was woeful and bottled the eustace sending off
3

Nthsuffolkblue added 16:00 - Jan 10 At real time I thought the ball might have come off his chest first onto his arm (which would not have been a pen). Replays show it didn't. How the referee saw it I don't know. Perhaps he thought the same? If MacLaren honestly thinks there was no deflection he has not watched it! The ref did not have his best game today in my opinion. How he booked McGoldrick and not Eustace in the "tangle" is beyond me.

3

kuyski added 16:19 - Jan 10 I will prefer next team line up with this: Bart Chambers (parr)- Berra - Smith - Mings Bru - Skuse - Bishop - Tabb McGoldrick - Murphy
0

chevvymalc added 16:26 - Jan 10 Its all about mid-field when we keep pushing the ball around then end up losing it instead of creating we look flat and ordinary still its only one game and by the law of averages it was bound to happen one day. Lets get over it and carry on the past good work on Wedensday night,
4

Dallas_Blues added 16:31 - Jan 10 If you hold your arm straight out, how is it not intentional?
5

SouperJim added 16:43 - Jan 10 If your arm is out from your body in the box and the ball strikes it, it's a penalty. Stone wall.
4

SickParrot added 17:03 - Jan 10 My first post for months because I am normally only motivated by frustration when things are going wrong.We were not anywhere near our best today but could still have got a point. Our great run had to come to an end and Derby are a good side and will be in the mix at the end. Only our second defeat since August, which is a brilliant achievement. Mick and the boys have been awesome since we lost to Norwich in August. We will bounce back. We will give Southampton a good game midweek and we will win at Millwall next Saturday. Come on you blues.

5

therein61 added 17:07 - Jan 10 Bad day at the office it happens to us all, we are still in a great position so onwards and upwards
1

rfretwell added 17:16 - Jan 10 Got to give credit to Chris Martin - watch the replay carefully - he anticipates Smiths header back to Bart may drop short - hes a strong lad and got round Smith as he went up for the ball so was ready and waiting to pounce. Thats why he has scored 18 odd goals this season.
3

Azzuromark added 17:30 - Jan 10 At first I thought "definite penalty", however have to the replays on TV were very inconclusive. The referee has to be sure that it is a penalty and, unlike myself, he did not have the luxury of about 8 replays! Had that have been in our penalty area, I would've been annoyed had the ref given it. I feel that Eustace should've received a 2nd yellow for the McGoldrick. Overall don't think we did enough to win the game, but have lost due to an unfortunate mistake. We will bounce back! Seeing all the other Championship results, we have not really lost any ground. ONWARDS AND UPWARSS 😁

5

jas0999 added 17:37 - Jan 10 I bet McClaren thought the ref was excellent! Personally, I thought it was one of the worst referring performances I had seen for a very long while. Not sour grapes, he wasn't responsible for Tommys error, but the standard of overall referring was poor.
5

Letchworth_Blue added 17:46 - Jan 10 The referee was abysmal end of. However he didn't cause us to lose the game, we did. Dust ourselves down and onwards and upwards.
3

Super_Cooper added 17:46 - Jan 10 Definite penalty. Referee was abysmal. McClaren is a t**t!
2

toxtethblue added 18:09 - Jan 10 McClaren thought the referee was excellent - of course he did, he gave them everything!! (Ok he sent Eustace off in the end but that was 45 minutes too late!!)
7

bluesince84 added 18:12 - Jan 10 whether this is a plus or a minus i dont know but the results around us today i feel couldnt be better, Bournemouth lost (albeit to the scum) and other results went our way, still up there and technically only 3 points from top, still not bad
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