Sunday’s East Midlands derby had it all; a typically fiery encounter with goals and the obligatory red card.

Beforehand I would’ve taken a point and, in the end, it was a fair result. On the way, Bobby Zamora’s face was littered on signs. I’m glad it has been of amusement to our foes down the A52.

Ryan Shotton starting to try and contain the hosts’ advances down the wing made sense and Will Hughes was the obvious replacement for the injured Jeff Hendrick.

The game began with tackles flying around and therefore it seemed a little stop-start early on. However, it all calmed down when both sets of supporters united on the 10th minute in tribute of Brian Clough.

Shotton was terrorised by the dangerous Antonio, while elsewhere, the Reds were mostly restricted.

It was Forest that had the better of the chances in the first-half but Derby’s defence held firm and weathered the storm. 0-0 at the break, coupled with two key Reds going off injured, gave Derby a good chance in the second-half. I was beginning to think the away side would sneak a win.

Things hotted up a notch in the second-half, and then around the 70 minute mark, Assombalonga’s smart finish put the home side ahead.

There was nothing the commanding Lee Grant could do; it was a well-taken goal by the man kept largely quiet throughout the game.

Positive substitutions from Steve McClaren helped freshen things up. Leon Best, Ivan Calero and Jordan Ibe coming on showed, once again, he is not afraid to make bold changes.

At times I felt Derby lacked a more direct winger because there was too much passing, instead of swinging a cross in.

The Rams responded soon after the opening goal through a scrappy goal. Forsyth, who should take free-kicks more often, swung in a lovely ball, met by Keogh’s head.

After crashing against the crossbar the ball found itself in a goal mouth scramble, only ended by Ryan Shotton poking the ball home. There it was; the character any successful team has to find in tricky situations.

Jake Buxton did, in truth, deserve his sending off late on. This fixture produces a red card religiously and Bucko was quickly a contender to follow that trend.

Prior to that, the scenes were ridiculous. A Forest fan was allowed to wander all the way from the Trent End to the away support and back, unchallenged. Getting him sorted early would have surely prevented others from attempting to follow him.

Like I said earlier (no, I’m not Richard Keogh!), it was a fair result. Forest was the better side in the first 45 and Derby responded well in the second.

Skipper Richard Keogh was tremendous throughout. He made some heroic interventions and coped well with the home side’s £5 million plus danger man. During pre-season, many, including me, expressed concern but he put in a true Captain’s performance.

Also putting in a good shift was Will Hughes. The youngster drove the side forward and wasn’t afraid to put in a tackle. In terms of strength, Hughes has improved enormously.

Unfortunately Craig Bryson couldn’t get into the game and Chris Martin had little service to thrive on. Two aspects that really hurt us throughout the match and made it hard for Derby to take hold of the game.

Today provided Stuart Pearce’s side with their most difficult test so far and, on the day, they didn’t look like a side flying high at the league’s summit. Nevertheless, Derby weren’t and still aren’t at their best, but they’re getting closer.

Two tough tests are on the way this coming week.

Blackburn Rovers and Cardiff City await.

Up The Rams!!

For more of Nathan's articles you can read his blog at www.derbycountyfan.com and follow him@NathansRamsBlog on Twitter.

Photo: Action Images

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