ON a day when Nottingham Forest and Derby County united to pay tribute to the best manager either has ever had, it was fitting that the two sides served up a proper derby; one packed with drama, controversy and fighting spirit.
Ahead of the tenth anniversary of Brian Clough's death, it was also perhaps fated that the game would ultimately end in stalemate, although there was little stale about the action that unfolded on the banks of the River Trent.
Both sets of fans offered a minute long round of applause in the tenth minute, in tribute to the legendary manager. And Clough himself would probably have been suitably entertained by what went either side of it.
A fine goal from Britt Assombalonga, a scrambled, desperate equaliser from Nottingham born substitute and former Notts County player, Leon Best, a sending off, a pitch invasion and a flurry of questionable refereeing – this match had everything.
Unfortunately for Forest, who will have been happy to remain top of the table, it also saw Chris Cohen pick up a serious looking injury, before Andy Reid also limped off before the half time whistle.
Pearce had spoken prior to kick off about his debate over whether to play with two strikers or one but, in the end, the choice was taken out of his hands, to some degree, by a groin injury picked up by Matty Fryatt.
If there was one certainty, it was that Forest were expecting another battle, against their oldest rivals. So it will subsequently not have been a tough decision for the Reds boss to keep faith with the same starting XI who had shown their character and resolve to fight their way to three points at Sheffield Wednesday, before the international break.
Derby, by contrast, saw both Jamie Ward and Jeff Hendrick ruled out through injury, although Jake Buxton was passed fit to play, after coming through a problem of his own.
Forest began with a predictable sense of purpose amid an incredible atmosphere with a driving run from skipper Cohen carving out a shooting chance for Henri Lansbury, but Lee Grant was able to pounce on the former Arsenal man's shot fairly comfortably. Cohen then had to chase back to slide in with a telling challenge on Craig Bryson, the man who had tormented Forest with his attacking threat from midfield so frequently in the past.
Amid a frenetic opening, Andy Reid had a free kick blocked by the Derby defensive wall and, following a crunching challenge that left Cohen in a heap on the floor, John Eustace picked up the first booking of the game, in the seventh minute.
Michail Antonio was causing Derby problems with his direct running down the left side, with his driven cross almost finding Chris Burke at the far post. But, after a lovely moment when the entire stadium united to mark the tenth anniversary of Clough's death with a minute of applause, came a worrying blow for Forest, as skipper Cohen sustained what looked to be another knee injury. The midfielder did manage to limp off the pitch, rather than being carried off in the waiting stretcher, but he was clearly distraught.
It was a cruel blow for Cohen, who has suffered two serious knee injuries in his career, the first of which was also collected in a game against the Rams – and the second of which had written off much of last season for him. He was replaced by German midfielder Robert Tesche, for his first taste of an East Midlands derby.
Richard Keogh produced a potentially goal saving header after Burke had floated in a delicious cross from the right, which Assombalonga was jumping to connect with, at the far post, with keeper Grant stranded out of position.
Ryan Shotton was fortunate to escape a booking when he cleaned out Antonio right on the left edge of the penalty area, with referee Paul Tierney deciding that a lecture was sufficient. Lansbury's driven free kick was then cleared at the near post.
Chances were seemingly hard to come by, with Darlow not forced into a meaningful save until just beyond the half hour mark, when he showed quick feet to get his body behind a Bryson free kick.
Reid was the first Forest player to go into the book, after clipping Johnny Russell as he looked to make progress down the flank. The loss of Cohen seemed to dampen the mood at the City Ground, although replacement Tesche was looking very neat and tidy on the ball, using it with calmness and composure.
Derby seemed to have found their attacking threat, however, with Russell then planting a header that flew wide of the upright, with the aid of a deflection.
Forest suffered a second blow before half time, as another influential midfielder had to limp off the pitch. This time it was Reid who had to go off, to be replaced by Ben Osborn, two minutes before the break. Still there was still time for the home side to come close to breaking the deadlock, with Assombalonga flicking a header high of the target, from a Lansbury free kick.
Tesche also came to achieving the spectacular, as he let fly with a 25-yard shot that fizzed just the wrong side of the post, following good work from Osborn and Antonio, while Lansbury looked to be a man on a mission, driving into space down the centre, before hitting a shot that was powerful, but rather wilder than the former Hamburg man's effort.
The second half began with Osborn picking up a booking for a challenge on the edge of the box, which probably did merit a card, but was no worse than either of the challenges by Shotton, in the first period, for which the Derby man escaped punishment.
Derby suffered a nervous moment of their own when Bryson had to go off the pitch for treatment, but the midfielder was able to continue. Eric Lichaj made an important headed interception, as Russell threatened at the far post for the Rams, with the game still being played at a hectic pace.
Buxton and Lansbury were booked, for fouls, in the space of a minute, while Forest then threatened twice, in the space of 60 seconds. A rampaging, driving run from Hunt saw him leave three Derby players in his wake, only for his cross to be cleared at the near post. When Antonio cut in from the opposite flank, the winger was able to get a shot away – and force a fine save from Grant, who did well to react to a deflection.
The game was delayed for several minutes as two fans invaded the pitch, with a third seemingly prevented from doing so. But the break did little to put Forest off as, with their next attack after the restart, they took the lead.
Antonio made forceful progress down the right side, before driving into the centre and picking out Assombalonga in the penalty area. The striker's first touch allowed him to turn neatly and his second saw him fire a crisp, low shot into the bottom corner with impressive accuracy.
Forest should have made it 2-0 very quickly, when Antonio attacked a Burke cross from the right, but the big man planted his header wide of the post. But Darlow had to conjure up an alert save when substitute Leon Best cut into the box from the left, as Derby countered quickly.
The equaliser was not long in coming, however, with Forest unable to keep the ball out, despite some desperate efforts on the goal line, following a corner. Firstly Keogh saw a header hit the bar, then Darlow saved second effort from Shotton, right on the line, any debate over whether it had crossed or not was ended as Best reacted to force the loose ball home from close range.
Derby were reduced to ten men for the final few minutes of the game, after Buxton picked up his second booking following a tussle with Burke – the sixth red card this fixture had produced in eight meetings.
And Forest looked to force some pressure, amid eight minutes of time added on, by bringing on Lars Veldwijk for Osborn, as injury time began. It was Assombalonga who came close to netting a second, in the 98th minute, with a crisp header. But that was to be the end of the drama.
![Nottingham Forest 1 Derby County 1: Match report]( "Nottingham Forest 1 Derby County 1: Match report")
