Result: Nottingham Forest 1 Derby County 0

Nottingham Forest, Derby County, footballl, city ground

Nélson Oliveira’s low deflected strike gave Nottingham Forest their first win in eight games and bragging rights over Derby County at the City Ground.

The Portuguese struck from just outside the area in the fourth minute to send the home crowd into raptures.

Derby went on to dominate possession but both sides had their moments in an entertaining Friday night battle by the Trent.

There had been much talk about the future of Reds manager Dougie Freedman before kick-off, with speculation suggesting the Scotsman could lose his job in the event of a poor performance.

But while Derby had plenty of passages of play which showed why they are knocking on the door of automatic promotion, Forest showed guts and determination throughout and deserved the win.

The three points put Forest in fifteenth in the table, while Derby remain in fifth place.