Huddersfield Town could draw some comfort from Johnny Russell’s glowing endorsement after his stunning strike ensured it was admirers rather than points that they won with their impressive performance at the iPro Stadium.
The Scotland international curled home a 73rd-minute goal shortly after his introduction to kill off any hope of the Terriers taking something from a game in which they had created as many good opportunities as Derby County.
A number of those chances were carved out before Chris Martin headed the Rams in front and the game still hung in the balance when Russell popped up to secure the promotion-chasing home side their third win in four matches.
“That was the first time I’ve seen Huddersfield under their new manager and I thought they were really impressive,” said the substitute.
“They look to play all over the pitch and they’re pleasing on the eye to watch. It was a tough game for us and they pushed us all the way.
“The main thing was getting the first goal. Fortunately, we were able to do that, but not before they had gone close a couple of times.”
He added: “The boys put in such a great effort to get us in front, so that I could then take the pressure off a little bit more.
“I think we’ve shown in recent games that we are on the right track and showing signs of getting back to what we should be doing.”
Derby consolidated their position in the play-offs with the victory, but have not given up all hope of forcing their way back into contention for an automatic promotion spot, having been top of the Championship table at Christmas.
“This league is crazy, so anything can happen,” said Russell. “There is still time for us to catch up, teams have done it before.”
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“The new manager has been brilliant since he’s come in. He’s been very positive and that has certainly spread amongst the boys.
“With the attacking players we’ve got, we should be ruthless, scoring more goals. For whatever reason, we haven’t done that, so it’s nice to be getting back to it. Maybe we have more freedom to attack, but nothing has changed that much.
“Chris Martin’s return to form is a big positive however. He’s massive for us, such a key part of what we do. It has been frustrating for him because he’s not been getting the service and the supply that he should be getting and thrives on.
“That’s down to the rest of us. But when you do, it shows you what he’s all about and he is back in the goals now which is great to see.”
