Derby and Nottingham Forest share spoils in scrappy goalless draw
A blood and thunder East Midlands derby left neither side with much to cheer. Both were probably happy to settle for a point after a feisty game that was short of quality, with Derby moving up a place to fourth and Forest in seventh, a point outside the top six.
Frank Lampard insisted the referee, Keith Stroud, had cost Derby victory after they were denied a penalty. Tom Lawrence appeared to be fouled in the area by Tendayi Darikwa midway through the first half but Stroud waved away the appeals.
“I think that the most staunch Nottingham Forest fan in the far side of the stadium thought that was a penalty,” Lampard said. “The easiest penalty to give is one where the striker gets a touch, clearly, and the defender follows through and catches him in the waist, clearly. The referee is on his own in his opinion that wasn’t a penalty. It was a game-changer.”
Aitor Karanka refused to criticise the referee and felt his Forest side were worthy of at least a point after a strong second-half showing.
“I don’t know if it was a penalty,” he said. “The referee was closer than me and if he made that decision it’s because he felt it was the right decision.”
Forest went into the game missing three central defenders, the suspended Tobias Figueiredo and the injured Danny Fox and Michael Dawson. Beaten 1-0 at home by Preston in their last match – only their third defeat of the season in the league – they started the game three points behind Derby and were soon on the back foot.
Jayden Bogle hit a volley from just outside the area that tested Costel Pantilimon in the fourth minute and that set the tone for the first half. Eight minutes later Mason Mount screwed a shot well over after Jack Marriott’s cross from the left.
Derby came closer from a corner when Tom Huddlestone got on the end of Richard Keogh’s flick-on but could not control his shot and it ballooned over.
A high-tempo, physical game was not one for the purists and offered the impression neither side are ready for the Premier League, both lacking quality in key creative areas.
Forest too often relied on long balls to Lewis Grabban, the Championship’s top scorer with 14 goals, but they came to life towards the end of the first half. When they did try a more measured passing approach, Grabban had a chance but his shot was blocked. Then Claudio Yacob headed over from close range.
The second half did not initially bring an improvement in quality. In an increasingly scrappy game, both sides struggled to string more than a couple of passes together.
The game burst into life midway through the half when Joe Lolley, Forest’s chief creative spark, weaved into the box and let loose a left-foot shot that was heading for the far corner until Scott Carson made a fine, flying save to tip it wide.
As the game wore on it turned into an end-to-end affair and Harry Wilson, Derby’s danger man, went close with a volley from just inside the area that Pantilimon palmed away.
At the other end Lolley hit the bar after a neat one-two with João Carvalho.