Cooper loving it as going gets Clough for rock-bottom Rams

THE BRIAN CLOUGH TROPHY is safe in the Nottingham Forest trophy cabinet – and could be there years.

Lewis Grabban and Brennan Johnson hit second-half goals to take the East Midlands derby honours in a predictably fiery clash.

These two famous old rivals compete for the silverware named after the legendary former boss and neither gave an inch with Ravel Morrison’s late red followed by handbags at the finish.

With Forest storming towards Premier League contention and Wayne Rooney’s Derby crashing towards relegation you can grasp the passion.

Delighted home boss Steve Cooper said: “We were worthy winners. They had a man sent off but we didn’t lose our heads. I love my team.

“We were together, good organisation and that gave us the opportunity to take our chances.”

This was always going to be a derby of real importance given the uncertainty over the Rams’s future.

But it could have had an entirely different outcome Derby captain Lawrence not missed a 16th-minute

N FOREST DERBY

By IAN BAKER

.............. 2 .................... 1 sitter, side-footing wide after being set up by Kazim-Richards. Forest took the lead three minutes after the restart with a scrappy goal, Grabban pouncing to bury Steve Cook’s deflected effort.

The game was settled seven minutes from time as Phillip Zinkernagel’s run set up Johnson to fire home. Derby don’t give up, though. And they earned a penalty as Cook fouled Lawrence with the Rams captain firing home. Rooney said: “I’ll keep doing my work and maybe I can bring someone in. But the club’s existence is far more important.”

NOTTINGHAM FOREST: Samba 6; Yates 7, Cook 6, McKenna 6; Spence 6, Garner 8, Colback 7, Lowe 6; Johnson 8, Grabban 7 (Taylor 84th), Davis 7 (Zinckernagel

(68th) 7)

DERBY: Allsop 7; Byrne 6, Stearman 6, Davies 7, Buchanan

6; Ebosele 6 (Morrison (60th) 4), Bird 6, Thompson 6 (Sibley 78th), Knight 6; Kazim-Richards 6 (Plange (60th) 6), Lawrence 7

STAR MAN: Brennan Johnson

REF: T Robinson