What can you say but sometimes the better team loses, unfortunately when that better team is yours, it hurts like someone squeezing lemon juice in your eye, punching you in the stomach and taking to your knee caps with a hammer.
I am not going to write a match summary as you all saw it. Plus I am not up to it on account of the fact my frown is making it hard for me to see what I am typing.
In short - The Rams were punished for not putting away their many chances, consolidating on their, at times, total dominance and not making the numerical advantage they had for over half an hour seal a victory!
If you saw the stats in isolation, you would predict it was a runaway victory for Derby.
68% — 32% of possession.
16 shots — 5 on target for Derby. 10 shots — 1 on target for QPR.
14 corners to Derby. 1 to QPR
All of that plus being a man up for over half an hour.
As the saying goes — statistics can lie!
Richard Keogh had his Steven Gerrard moment to let in Bobby Zamora for Rangers with his, and their, first shot on target, a shot that shattered The Rams promotion chances and the hearts of Derby fans at Wembley and the world over.
It will burn inside the players, coaching staff and each and every fan that such a golden opportunity was thrown away, when it looked to have been served up on a plate.
The players deserve praise for providing one of the most entertaining seasons in the clubs history but it is unfortunate that history will show — they also managed to squander a golden opportunity in a game where it was getting harder to lose than win. But luckily for Harry’s Rangers, Derby found a way to make it happen.
RamZone match reporters I.Saw and Ryan Weston were at Wembley, and if they ever recover from a sudden bout of deep dark disbelief and depression, they may find the strength to sum up a day that looked to be only going one way — only to find that it was in fact headed straight into the path of an oncoming train!
No matter what, it is still, and always will be; ‘Derby till we die’ — which considering the way most will be feeling at the moment — it may come sooner than later!
I need a lay down.