Player of the match Carlton Morris told Sky Sports:
“It’s all going rather well at the moment. (After a slow start) we never lost focus and faith in what this squad is capable of. Bring on the next game after the break.”
After a third header from a corner in as many games: “I’m just grateful to the boys for how much quality they are delivering at the moment.”
On Derby’s climb up the table: “We never panicked. We started the season and the performances were there, but the results weren’t, we never panicked, you’re seeing it come to fruition, we’re on a roll at the minute, long may it continue.”
Blackburn’s Valerien Ismael:
“Very frustrating especially the first half. I can’t understand it. I said to the boys why do we play like that? It’s not what I expected from us.
“We wanted to play on the front foot, wanted to be brave, we knew that we would have the ball and we end up 2-0 down without knowing why because Derby didn’t make a lot for the game. We know them, set pieces and defend.
“Especially the second goal, we were on the ball and just gave it away. We tried a special pass, just play a simple ball to move the opponent.
“We spoke about it at half-time and second half was exactly the game we wanted, play on front foot, calm on the ball, force them to move left and right, come with the crosses, score the goal, got momentum in the game but we lost the game in the first half.
“For me, it’s frustrating why we are not able to start the game like that, and the way we concede the goals.”
“We didn’t put the pressure on that we wanted”
Valerian Ismael reacts to his side’s loss to Derby ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/4YeA9r7XEb
— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) November 8, 2025
Derby’s John Eustace:
“We speak about Carlton every game now, and all I’d say is he’s a top professional.
“He’s a real leader and most importantly, he’s a top human being. We’re very lucky to have him here. He drives the standards every day in training and makes sure he’s helping the lads around him in Patrick, Rhian (Brewster) and Lars-Jorgen (Salvesen).
“Any senior player I bring to the football club have got a responsibility not just on the pitch but off it as well. His job is to develop the others and he’s doing it.
“Second half, he got a bit leggy which he did on Tuesday but we’re asking him to do a defensive role as well, as a striker, to drop into certain areas and he’s doing it to the best of his abilities.
“He took a really bad knock on Tuesday. He was touch and go today but he said ‘I can’t wait to get going and I’ll do every defensive bit of the work’ and that was good enough for me.
“I’m just glad he’s come off the pitch injury free and he can have a well-deserved rest for the next week or so.”
At the MKM Stadium, Hull snatched a 3-2 victory against Portsmouth. The Tigers surged back into the play-off places (5th) with Joe Gelhardt’s 79th-minute winner in a thrilling first half followed by a quiet second. Portsmouth remain winless in six and stuck in 20th.
Hull’s Sergej Jakirovic, per Sky Sports:
“When I watched him in last season’s games, I begged Mr Chairman (Acun Ilicali) to bring him back here.
“He likes playing here and he wanted to come back here. He has a completely different profile to the players we have.
“He has the quality to play in a number of positions and is able to pass, shoot and has speed, which is special.
“He’s 23 years old and maybe he can reach the Premier League. But, right now, he’s made the difference.”
Portsmouth’s John Mousinho:
“It was, in large parts, positive, particularly the way we started, but the three goals we conceded were really poor.
“We didn’t have a huge amount of pressure in the second half, but we didn’t look exposed.
“We invited pressure in the way we handled the ball going forward. We were also a bit more defensively generous, but we have to take collective responsibility.
“If you look at the second half, for 35 minutes we looked very, very solid, but the goal changes the game.
“Objectively, on that performance, it’s two steps forwards two steps backwards.
“It (the international break) is good for us as we get players back for the Millwall game – maybe it’s just been a bit too much for the squad of late.”
