James Garner scored his first senior goal in his seventh appearance for Forest since he was on loan from Manchester United last month
Colin Kazim-Richards hit a thunderous volley to secure Derby County’s 108th East Midlands Derby and denied Nottingham Forest a third straight championship win.
After nearly giving up a penalty when Yuri Ribeiro appeared to have blocked a shot from Kamil Jozwiak, Forest beat James Garner’s first senior goal that passed David Marshall but failed to build on it despite a number of chances.
Anthony Knockaert was at the heart of their creative game, but his header went wide and another from Garner was right on substitute keeper Kelle Roos.
While it was still 1-0, Derby always had a chance and it was revealed that Kazim-Richards brought the ball down, recovered a rebound from Forest defender Tobias Figueiredo and shot past Brice Samba.
Substitute Rams player Lee Gregory might have taken all three points late but tried, which meant Derby boss Wayne Rooney had to settle for a draw in his first derby.
With both sides on an uptrend, this tie is a satisfactory outcome for both sides when it comes to scrambling the table away from relegation spots – and Forest retains the Brian Clough Trophy, which both sides play in tribute to their legendary former boss .
The only thing missing was the atmospheric kick-start that a typical Derby crowd would have produced at times when both sides seemed passive and sluggish.
Derby, who came into play with six wins in their last eight games, has made it harder to beat better and move forward under England’s top scorer Rooney, especially since Kazim-Richards, who has scored seven goals since then, in early December.
In a bright first half hour, however, they did not take any chances and spent large parts of the game on their back feet on their home turf.
Lee Gregory and Patrick Roberts gave their attack boost a late boost and relieved Kazim-Richards, who had previously worked alone.
Forest’s dominance during their best spells didn’t bring any goals, but there were positives like the combination of Knockaert and full-back Cyrus Christie, who networked well as creative outlets on the right.
You are now unbeaten in eight consecutive derbies against the Rams.
Derby County’s chief Wayne Rooney told BBC Radio Derby:
“I’m happy to get a point in the end. Until we admitted that we were the better team, we caused forest problems and they didn’t know how to put us under pressure with our structure.”
“I felt like the longer it took, the more chances we would have created, but then we conceded a really sloppy goal, that [David] Marshall knows he has to do better.
“We lost the ball too often in the second half. We were second after the second ball and were lucky enough to get a point in the end.”
“I spoke to the players at half time to keep them calm and told them we could still win the game. What happens in the second half is not good enough for us.”
“There wasn’t enough intensity, we made stupid mistakes, goalkeepers couldn’t kick the ball where it belonged and it was a collection of things that happened in the second half.”
Nottingham Forest chief Chris Hughton told BBC Radio Nottingham:
“They took possession of the ball in the first half but never created too much. They weren’t such a big threat even though they had possession.
“When the game opened in the second [half]We had better possessions and got into better areas to be creative.
“That’s the disappointment, the goal they scored can happen, it’s a fabulous goal and a great result, but at that point we had to be further ahead.”
“In the areas where we were better and made the final third, we had to be more clinical and find the final ball.”
Constellations
Derby
formation 4-2-3-1
1Marshall
12Byrne2wisdom16Clarke26thBuchanan
8thbird4thShinnie
9Waghorn38Knight7thJozwiak
13Kazim-Richards
- 1MarshallReplaced byRoosat the 42 ‘protocol
- 12Byrne
- 2wisdomBooked at 82 minutes
- 16Clarke
- 26thBuchanan
- 8thbird
- 4thShinnieReplaced byGregoryat the 64 ‘protocol
- 9WaghornReplaced byRobertsat the 75 ‘protocol
- 38Knight
- 7thJozwiakReplaced bySibleyat the 64 ‘protocol
- 13Kazim-Richards
replacement
- 3Forsyth
- 6Edmundson
- 17thSibley
- 19thGregory
- 21stRoos
- 23Roberts
- 34Baningime
- 37MacDonald
- 40Watson
Nottm forest
formation 4-2-3-1
30thsamba
2Christie3Figueiredo4thWorrall5Ribeiro
37Garner18thRibeiro Dias
28Knockaert27Krovinovic15thFreeman
25thMurray
- 30thsamba
- 2Christie
- 3Figueiredo
- 4thWorrall
- 5Ribeiro
- 37Garner
- 18thRibeiro Dias
- 28Knockaert
- 27Krovinovic
- 15thFreemanReplaced byBlackettat the 82 ‘protocol
- 25thMurrayReplaced byTaylorat the 70 ‘protocol
replacement
- 6Mbe Soh
- 8thColback
- 11Ameobi
- 12Blacksmith
- 16Jenkinson
- 21stsow
- 23Lolley
- 24Blackett
- 33Taylor
Live text
End of the game, Derby County 1, Nottingham Forest 1.
The second half ends, Derby County 1, Nottingham Forest 1.
Attempt blocked. Anthony Knockaert (Nottingham Forest) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Foul by Nathan Byrne (Derby County).
Filip Krovinovic (Nottingham Forest) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Attempt blocked. Colin Kazim-Richards (Derby County) right footed shot from very close range is blocked. Assisted by Matthew Clarke with a head pass.
Corner, Derby County. The corner was created by Cyrus Christie.
Lee Gregory (Derby County) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Foul by Joe Worrall (Nottingham Forest).
Lee Gregory (Derby County) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Tobias Figueiredo (Nottingham Forest).
Corner of Nottingham Forest. The corner was caused by Andre Wisdom.
Attempt blocked. Filip Krovinovic (Nottingham Forest) header from the center of the box is blocked. Assisted by Lyle Taylor with a cross.
Missed attempt. Lee Gregory (Derby County) right footed shot from the center of the box misses to the left. Assisted by Patrick Roberts with a cross.
Missed attempt. Anthony Knockaert (Nottingham Forest) header from the center of the box is close but misses to the left. Assisted by Yuri Ribeiro with a cross.
Goal! Derby County 1, Nottingham Forest 1. Colin Kazim-Richards (Derby County) right footed shot from outside the box in the lower right corner.
Attempt saved. Tobias Figueiredo’s (Nottingham Forest) header from the center of the penalty area is saved in the top left corner. Prepared by Anthony Knockaert.
Substitution, Nottingham Forest. Tyler Blackett replaces Luke Freeman.
Andre Wisdom (Derby County) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Foul by Andre Wisdom (Derby County).
