Sierra Leone’s Augustus Kargbo was forced out due to an injury in the opening 16 minutes of the contest. The Rovers were outperformed throughout the field and lost a significant number of battles in the opening 20 minutes.
Head coach Valerien Ismael is hopeful that Augustus Kargbo’s hamstring injury, which he sustained during the loss against Derby County, won’t sideline the Sierra Leone international for an extended period.
“We got another injury with AK [Kargbo], a muscle injury and he’ll be out for a few weeks,” Ismael revealed to RoversTV.
They faced a difficult start in their game against Derby County, losing 2-1. Craig Forsyth and Ebou Adams scored for Derby in the first seven minutes. Makhtar Gueye scored just before halftime, giving Rovers a glimmer of hope.
Although they managed to equalize thanks to Makhtar Gueye, they failed to challenge the goalkeeper sufficiently in the second half and have no grounds for complaint about finishing without any points.
In the second half, both teams struggled to create chances, with Rovers’ goalkeeper, Jacob Zetterstrom, remaining largely untested. Coach Valerien Ismael made two changes, bringing in Sondre Tronstad and Yuki Ohashi.
Forsyth opened the scoring for Derby just four minutes into the match, slipping the ball past Rovers’ keeper, Aynsley Pears. Rovers tried to respond, but Ohashi’s header was saved. Derby doubled their lead three minutes later when Adams scored from close range.
Rovers faced another challenge when Augustus Kargbo left due to injury. They switched to a three-at-the-back formation but struggled to create opportunities. Five minutes before halftime, Gueye scored, hitting the ball into the roof of the net after a low cross from Ohashi.
In the second half, Rovers started better but could not find the equalizer. Ohashi missed a chance early on, and Nat Phillips failed to score from a corner kick.
Jerry Yates missed a close chance late in the game. Despite seven minutes of extra time, Rovers could not find another goal, and Derby secured their first win of 2025.
Rovers will play again on Wednesday night against Stoke City at the bet365 Stadium, starting at 8 pm.
