The big East Midlands’ clash at the City Ground last Sunday wasn’t a great footballing spectacle - but the Rams won through again, after Forest had to stop making an exhibition of themselves.

Saturday’s Championship results had left Derby in 20th position in the table with Forest 15th, a couple of points ahead of the Rams.

For all the good football this season, Derby were too close to the bottom of the table for comfort and a result at Forest was keenly needed, before the prospect of another tough away game at Middlesbrough in midweek.

The game was preceded by the Nottingham half-marathon with attendant road closures and traffic problems - pretty good thinking then by Sky TV and the police to move this match to Sunday lunchtime.

It might not have occurred to the authorities that this was one game where a tea-time kick-off might have been more sensible; perhaps advertising revenues to the Sky dynasty are higher when games are played in the early afternoon?

Last season’s fixtures produced two more folk-heroes for Derby County supporters, with young Irish midfielder Jeff Hendrick clinching victory with a sweet second-half shot as Derby (who only had 10 men) came from behind to win 2-1. Then stand-in defender Jake Buxton nudged in the crucial goal late on in the return match last February, after the drama of Shaun Barker’s serious injury had set the Rams back.

Nigel Clough named an unchanged side and replaced Conor Doyle with Kieron Freeman on the bench. With Derby having Tyson and Theo Robinson on the bench and Forest saving the likes of Lansbury and Billy Sharp, it seemed that both squads looked stronger overall than last season.

The match started with the traditional crackling atmosphere with 28,700 inside the City Ground, including 4,400 Rams fans that were willing their team to repeat the heroics of last season. There was no early drama this time, as Derby made a solid start and managed to quieten down the vociferous home crowd during the first 15 minutes.

It was competitive and fragmented early on, with both sides giving as good as they got in the physical exchanges - but goalmouth action was at a premium. It got tastier after 20 minutes as Andy Reid was booked for a late challenge on Jake Buxton. Jake was booked soon after when Dexter Blackstock made the most of a challenge.

Forest seized the better of possession as the half wore on, with Derby giving away too many free kicks as they resisted the home side’s assault. A McGugan free kick whizzed off a defender for a corner after 33 minutes, but the danger to Fielding was being minimised by strong defending.

Roberts was booked for a foul on Cohen as the half reached its close and Forest players were making far too much of challenges and then creating crowd scenes with the referee which had more and more become a distasteful Trees’ tactic. It goaded the Forest crowd to expect a booking every time a tackle was made, Roberts being booked when he clearly got the ball, for instance.

Derby players kept their cool for the most part and no doubt hoped the officials would wise up in time. Sammon went close for Derby as added time advanced in one of Derby’s few goalwards opportunities, and the first half ended goalless.

The drama came straight after the restart - when the Trees’ tough tactics rebounded on them. Dexter Blackstock elbowed Keogh within seconds of the kick-off. Blackstock had led with his elbow and Keogh went down with his mouth bleeding.

Now Forest only had 10 men....so could they rise to the challenge as the Rams had done so brilliantly to win in Nottingham last season?

Answer: NO! Soon after the sending-off, a fine Derby move through Brayford and Hughes saw Paul Coutts released, and he swept the ball across the area for Craig Bryson to ram it home and give Derby the lead. Then it was Derby’s turn to monopolise possession, and they played some neat football as Forest tried to regroup.

Forest fans consoled themselves by throwing coins at Derby’s corner-taker, Paul Coutts. The Rams suffered a blow as top-scorer Jamie Ward limped off injured, after he himself was of course pelted by missiles from the sizeable Neanderthal element of the Forest crowd. Michael Jacobs replaced Jamie, the change doing nothing to disrupt Derby’s ascendancy.

Nottingham provided the idiots among the crowd, whilst Derby fans provided the rousing vocal noise - the home fans became muted. Trees’ boss O’Driscoll rang the changes with substitutes in a bid to save the game; Clough did likewise aiming to retain the Rams’ advantage.

Forest rallied late on to mount a desperate final assault but Fielding parried a Gillett drive superbly to preserve Derby’s lead. Keogh and Buxton had stood firm at the heart of the Rams’ defence and the Trees fans started to drift home dejectedly.

The Brian Clough Trophy was staying put at Derby; it doesn’t get moved much nowadays, so Pride Park Stadium staff should be instructed to lift and dust it regularly from its berth in the trophy cabinet.

Over five minutes of added time seemed like a lifetime but Derby recorded back-to-back City Ground League wins for the first time in over 40 years, and the first League ‘triple’ for 100 years.

The result moved Derby up to 12th in the table with Forest dropping below them in 17th place - and it was a highly satisfying way for the Rams to record their first ‘clean sheet’ and opening away win of the season.

Forest fans might think (like their manager) that Blackstock’s red card was harsh - but many Rams fans will disagree. Fact is, Frank Fielding’s sending-off last September was much more contentious, and Derby had to claw back from 0-1 down on top of that.

Perhaps the officials wised up at the break and heard or saw some of the media analysis of the Forest players’ antics. Blackstock was the next player to step out of line and he paid the price. I thought that Forest would have more to offer - and am glad that their tactics rebounded on them.

Derby have hardly seen the kindest decisions from officials in clashes with the Trees in recent seasons (remember the incompetent rookie Attewell disallowing two Miles Addison goals?) so it made a nice change for us to get the rub of the green.

Forest’s blatant gamesmanship through persistent injury simulation and referee-baiting throughout the first half was ended on the restart, because after the dismissal, they had to rally to prevent a more positive Derby side from taking the game even further away from them. Forest currently has the worst disciplinary record in the Championship.

The game changed dramatically after the interval and ultimately, Forest proved very ordinary. The Rams did not have to play particularly well to master them, though it was a resilient team performance. Keogh was dominant and Buxton not far behind him, and the pair of them had Forest’s forwards for breakfast.

Derby’s star man was again Craig Bryson, with his prodigious work-rate plus of course, the crucial goal. At this rate, another PoTY Award beckons for him!

The Trees were left to lick their wounds - and it was their turn to apologise for unacceptable crowd behaviour, with the Chairman having to investigate the missile-pelting numbskulls that could have inflicted serious injury on the Derby players they targeted.

The return fixture at Pride Park Stadium is on 19th January 2013 - and it can’t come soon enough!

Four points or more from this week’s games would consolidate the Rams’ top-half Championship position and here’s hoping that the team can build upon their latest ‘derby’ victory!

Photo: Action Images

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