Josh Holland debates the big talking points from the Rams 1-1 home draw with Shrewsbury Town and a missed promotion opportunity

Derby County ‘s 1-1 draw with Shrewsbury Town must have felt more like a defeat after two precious points were dropped in their bid to win promotion from League One.

Having gone ahead early in the second-half through Max Bird, the Rams looked to be cruising towards another win on the road to a return to Championship football. But Shrewsbury threw a huge spanner in the works with an 87th-minute equaliser at Pride Park from Aaron Pierre, his first goal since April.

With leaders Portsmouth edging a win at Carlisle, Derby are now six points off top spot in League One, albeit with a game in hand. But the Derby frustrations were there for all to see at full-time, especially after Curtis Nelson hit the Shrewsbury crossbar in the 93rd minute.

Derby attention will swiftly turn to Tuesday night’s trip to Exeter City, but there are valuable lessons to learn from a lost opportunity against strugglers Shrewsbury. Josh Holland has been looking at the big talking points from the game…

No clinical touch

The frustration when referee James Bell put an end to the first-half was clear from every supporter inside Pride Park, Paul and Warne in the Rams dug-out. Derby managed only two shots in the first half and their xG (expected goals) was just 0.29, with 0.27 coming from set-pieces – which saw Conor Hourihane’s free-kick miss everything.

Nathaniel Mendez-Laing, James Collins and Joe Ward all failed to hurt Shrewsbury in the opening 45. For a team challenging for promotion, expectations are higher and the lack of threat would have frustrated Warne. It is a recurring theme for this Rams team and one that highlights the failure to bring in a striker during the January transfer window.

The change at half-time that saw Tom Barkhuizen replace Ward was a clear indicator of Warne’s thoughts on his side’s first-half efforts. The substitute was exactly what they needed with Mendez-Laing going out to the left and producing a number of dangerous balls within eight minutes.

Blackett-Taylor decision

When Pierre made it 1-1 with three minutes of normal time to go, the urge for Warne to introduce Corey Blackett-Taylor in a bid to snatch a late winner must have been tempting.

But the head coach continued to take no risks. The striker was not in the squad for last week’s win over Charlton due to a groin issue, but his name on the team sheet yesterday would have been a boost for the club.

Warne admitted he was unsure whether the January arrival would be ready to play. He wasn’t. And while many will question the decision not to throw him on in a bid to get a winner, the long-term fitness of a player of his quality is the priority.

Tyreece John-Jules’ recent injury means Derby are short in attack with Martyn Waghorn and Conor Washington already sidelined. Ensuring Blackett-Taylor doesn’t join them long-term is a must, especially when considering his own questionable injury record.

Lesson learned

After seeing two points snatched away after seeing his side fail to add a second goal to their tally, Warne took responsibility for the way he set-up for the game. “First-half is my fault, I picked the wrong shape for the game,” he said.

“I thought with Cash [Eiran Cashin] missing, having the three at the back would give us some solidity and enable [Louie] Sibley and [Joe] Ward to be higher up the pitch, but it didn’t really happen. We didn’t really get out. We looked edgy.

“In fairness to Shrewsbury, everything they got we gave to them with our sloppiness. We changed the system after 35 minutes, but I should have changed it earlier really.”

Struggling Shrewsbury at Pride Park is a fixture Derby would have marked down as a home banker, so failing to claim all three points with it being so tight at the top of League One is a setback.

Exeter on Tuesday presents the Rams with another opportunity to add some breathing room between themselves and the teams in the play-off spots. Warne’s comments after Saturday’s draw would point towards a similar set-up to what we saw in the second-half.