Wayne Rooney experienced defeat for the first time as a manager as his Derby side suffered a heart-breaking 1-0 defeat at home to Preston.
The winner, scored by Alan Browne, came in the sixth minute of stoppage-time in a match where the Rams had to play 70 minutes with ten men due to Martyn Waghorn receiving a red card.
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The loss comes in Rooney‘s seventh match as interim boss but more importantly it means Derby are still in the Championship’s relegation zone.
However, the Manchester United and England legend cut a positive figure despite the manner of defeat, claiming it’s been Derby’s best performance of the season.
He told talkSPORT: “Yeah, it is of course [disappointing to concede in the last minute].
“I said to the players that was the best performance of the season. Going down to ten men, digging in for so long but also being a threat when we had the chance to break and still trying to win the game. I’m really pleased with the players – the attitude, the work they put in.
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“It’s hard to stand here being pleased after a defeat but I honestly believe that was the best performance of the season.
“I’m confident with these group of players, how they’re performing over the last few weeks that we can go to those games [against Birmingham and Sheffield Wednesday] and get three points.”
Elsewhere, Swansea rose to second with a 2-0 win at QPR, taking advantage of Bournemouth’s clash at Millwall being postponed due to a coronavirus outbreak in the Lions camp.
Brentford midfielder Sergi Canos had a Boxing Day to remember as his hat-trick helped his side win 3-2 at Cardiff in a match which also saw Bluebirds star Will Vaulks score from inside his own half.
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There were also wins for Barnsley, Bristol City and Reading, while Liverpool loanee Harvey Elliott continued to impress on loan at Blackburn as he provided the assist for Joe Rothwell in the 1-1 draw at home to Sheffield Wednesday.
Below you can see the Championship’s Boxing Day results in full.
Barnsley 2-1 Huddersfield
Blackburn 1-1 Sheffield Wednesday
Bristol City 2-1 Wycombe
Cardiff 2-3 Brentford
Coventry 0-0 Stoke
Derby 0-1 Preston
Nottingham Forest 0-0 Birmingham
QPR 0-2 Swansea
Reading 2-1 Luton
Watford vs Norwich (KO 7:45pm)
Middlesbrough P-P Rotherham
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