Though the rivalry threatened to spill over, particularly with the pitch invasion that would have earned the three men a clip round the earhole from Clough, both sets of supporters did unite in the 10th minute to pay tribute to the man who died 10 years ago on Saturday.
Pearce said: “Nobody else unites these clubs in this part of the world like Brian Clough and he deserves every accolade he got.
“That atmosphere was as good as I’ve ever known it in this stadium, in all the time that I ever played. I would have preferred to have played, I probably enjoyed the experience more as a player than I did a manager.
“I was just disappointed with the football aspect, it was scrappy and we didn’t show ourselves in a better light. For us it’s a couple of points lost.”
These derby tussles claimed a manager apiece last season, with Nigel Clough and Billy Davies both leaving in the aftermath of defeats. The stakes are now even higher due to their status as two of the favourites for promotion to the Premier League.
Early chants of “We beat the scum 5-0” from the visiting end were offset by songs in tribute to Bobby Zamora, with Forest fans even wearing masks of the Queens Park Rangers striker whose late goal broke Derby hearts in last season’s play-off final.
However, free-flowing and controlled football rarely broke out in a first half that was disjointed and played primarily in a congested midfield. Pearce’s plans were also disrupted by the early departure of Chris Cohen, who left the field in tears. The club captain is now waiting to discover if he has sustained a third serious knee injury.
The influential Andy Reid left the field shortly before half-time and his exit enabled Will Hughes, Derby’s England under-21 international, to become increasingly dangerous in the second half.
However, it was not until 19 minutes from time that the first piece of composure came amid the chaos. Michail Antonio found Assombalonga in the area and his clever turn took him clear of Shotton before he placed his shot into the bottom corner. It was a brilliant finish and Forest appeared in the ascendancy.
However, Derby produced a spirited response and Shotton prodded the ball over the line 10 minutes from time, with the substitute Leon Best making sure. Eight minutes of added time heightened the tension but neither side could find the breakthrough.
Derby defender Jake Buxton, though, was sent off for a second booking, a reckless lunge at Chris Burke, with McClaren insisting later that the referee, Paul Tierney, was too inexperienced for a game of such high intensity. Buxton became the sixth player to be dismissed in the last eight matches between the two clubs.
“It was a typical local derby where you’ve got to show character and there’s no doubt my players did that,” McClaren said. “To last 15 minutes with 10 men was testament to them. The second half had everything good and bad in the Championship. We wanted to win but it was important to come here and not lose.”
Nottingham Forest (4-2-3-1) Darlow; Hunt, Mancienne, Hobbs, Lichaj; Cohen (Tesche 15), Reid (Osborn 43, Veldwijk 90); Antonio, Lansbury, Burke; Assombalonga.
Subs De Vries (g), Wilson, Fox, Paterson.
Goal Assombalonga 72.
Booked Reid, Osborn, Lansbury, Burke.
Derby County (4-3-3) Grant; Shotton, Keogh, Buxton, Forsyth; Bryson (Ibe 76), Eustace (Calero 76), Hughes; Russell (Best 68), Martin, Dawkins.
Subs Roos (g), Christie, Whitbread, Mascarell.
Goal Best 80.
Booked Eustace, Buxton.
Referee P Tierney (Lancashire).
Att 30,227.
0 comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.