Paul Warne delighted as William Osula takes his chance

Posted Sunday, October 16, 2022 by PA

Paul Warne said William Osula has earned a run in the side after his double in Derby’s 3-0 victory over Accrington.

It was Warne’s third game in charge of the Rams and Danish striker Osula, on loan from Sheffield United, struck in the 15th and 39th minutes in his first start for County.

However in between that, Sean McConville hit the woodwork for Stanley and then wasted two penalties in two minutes.

“William has been excellent,” said Warne. “I told him to take his opportunity, he came in today and I told him if he did well he would keep the shirt – and he did well.

“But there were a lot of positive performances, it was a good win, an energetic performance and we controlled the game for long periods.

“We did have a head loss where we gave away two penalties – whether they were penalties is debatable – and those five minutes before half-time were the worst of us, we created our own problems.

“I wasn’t happy at half-time and questioned some of their characters and challenged them to keep a clean sheet in the second half, which they did. We know, though, we can get better.

“A 3-0 win and I am happy with that and, on the counter-attack, it could have been five or six. That one-minute walk off the pitch after the whistle is the best minute of the day!”

Tom Barkhuizen did add a third in the 98th minute, stroking the ball into the empty net, but it could have all been so different but for McConville’s nightmare from the spot.

Shaun Whalley was tripped by Max Bird in the 38th minute and Curtis Davies two minutes later, but McConville’s first penalty was saved by Joe Wildsmith before he fired wide from the second.

Manager John Coleman said: “It wasn’t a 3-0. One of our fans, after the final whistle, said that was ‘men against boys’ but they weren’t watching the same game as me if they thought that.

“For 30 minutes we battered them, we hit the bar and missed two penalties and no one is hurting more than Sean.

“He didn’t mean to miss the penalties and he could have had a hat-trick in the first half.

“We showed enough in the game to hurt them but we have got to be more clinical.

“They have punished us for slack defending and it was never a 3-0. We will have to look at the first two goals and how we can defend them better. I don’t count the third goal as that was when we were pushing forward.

“If someone had said to me that Derby County would be time-wasting and playing five at the back against Accrington Stanley 20 years ago I would have been carried off!”