Paul Warne's reaction said it all as 'charity free-kick' hurts Derby County

Paul Warne said it was hard to be critical of Derby County after their 1-1 draw against Plymouth but felt their lack of quality in the final third proved decisive.

Derby had looked on course to seal their second win of the week when Jerry Yates opened the scoring early with a magical overhead kick for his third goal of the season.

Warne's side continued to knock on the door as they searched for a second goal, but despite creating some good opportunities, they were punished when Adam Randell's free-kick took a deflection and sailed past Jacob Widell Zetterstrom.

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Derby dominated possession in the second half and did come close to a winner when Yates' audacious 60-yard lob drew a save from Daniel Grimshaw before Curtis Nelson headed straight at the goalkeeper from a corner.

Asked for his reflections on the game, Warne said: "I thought we dominated. I thought we were really good and we just needed that second goal, but didn't get it.

"I don't believe it was a free-kick from which they scored. It was a charity free-kick in my view. The ref said it was a push, but I thought it was shoulder-to-shoulder.

"We've lost two points on a deflected non-free-kick free-kick. It's very hard to be critical of the lads. We just didn't have enough quality in the final third. Everything else about our game was excellent.

"We played two different shapes and were dominant with both. The more you go for it, the more at risk you are of being hit on the counter. I just thought we were in the ascendancy for all parts of the game, but the scoreline doesn't say that."

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