Matches between these old rivals require little in the way of introduction at the best of times, but add Derby’s FA cup comeback just a fortnight ago into the mix and the intensity is taken up a notch.  This fixture is as much about pride as it is three points. 

The Rams, keen not to let the occasion spoil their recent winning streak were first out of the blocks, and in less than five minutes Lewin Nyatanga was able to put the Rams one up volleying Kris Commons’ free kick into the bottom corner. 

Derby were dealt yet another injury blow to accompany those picked up at Coventry midweek as Nacer Barazite was replaced by Sterjovski on 15 minutes after being forced off with a dislocated shoulder.    

Despite going behind early it was Forest who were to have the better chances for the remainder of the first half, with Earnshaw twice lifting the ball over Bywater’s bar. 

Having used half time to regroup the Rams came out fired up and with barely a minute of the second half on the clock had doubled their lead.  Once again the goal came from a set-piece; this time crossed in by Robbie Savage and glanced goalwards by Hulse with a deft header on the edge of the six yard box. 

If a state of euphoria had not already been reached amongst the hordes of travelling Derby supporters then it certainly was by the 62^nd minute when Rob Hulse was pushed in the box by Forest captain James Perch.  The resulting penalty was tucked away by Steve Davies to make it three to the Rams. 

Having already used all three substitutions Derby were forced to finish the game with ten men as Jay McEveley like Barazite suffered with his shoulder. 

With the extra man Forest again applied the pressure, eventually pulling one back through Earnshaw who headed down into the Derby net.  

This proved to be only a consolation as Derby walked away with their heads held high.  It had been over thirty years since a Derby victory at the City Ground and with two now in as many weeks things are certainly looking on to be on the up!

The Rams continued their recent winning streak with an emphatic victory against Blackpool.

Under the flood-lit Pride Park the Rams made a confident start to the game and were ahead by the eighth minute, as Hulse pounced on Stephen Crainey’s poor back pass to set up Kris Commons who passed into an empty net.

Any hopes of a quick double were dashed as the recent revelation of Gary Teale limped off to be replaced Steve Davies; the confident play which has epitomised the Rams’ performances of late seemingly drained away.

By the 31^st minute the game was back on even terms as former Ram Rob Edwards rose unchallenged to head in Stephen Crainey’s free kick.

As half time came and went the deadlock continued; whilst a Derby side of old (or even of six weeks ago) may have slipped up under such circumstances this was Nigel Clough’s rejuvenated Derby. A point made clear with a piece of magic from Kris Commons‘ on the 74^th minute. Collecting the ball on the right Commons weaved his way to the edge of the box where he unleashed a screamer into the far top corner for his second of the game.

The lead galvanised the Rams who launched wave after wave of attack. It wasn’t long before Blackpool’s defences were breached again as Green latched onto a perfectly weighted through ball from Commons to make it three to the Rams.

By the time Barazite scored his first goal in a Derby shirt the Rams were home and dry. Collecting the ball in his own half Barazite strolled forward launching a shot from 20 yards beating the keeper with the help of a deflection.

With another three points in the bag and another large step towards safety taken,  the Rams’ can finally put the first half of the season behind them and begin making strides upwards and onwards!

Up next is the small matter of a wooded outcrop down the A52… did somebody shout TIMBER?

Derby have faced Manchester United three times this season, all in crucial Cup fixtures. It took a tense return leg for Man Utd to beat Derby in the Carling Cup so hopes were high for Derby to improve on their previous attempt against the world’s finest.

Man Utd dominate the game from the off with two strong efforts from Darren Fletcher and Ji-Sung Park but it was Nani who broke the deadlock after 29 minutes with a ferocious shot from 20 yards.

It looked like Cristiano Ronaldo had doubled the lead shortly after but, thankfully, the ref disallowed his attempt after a long debate with the linesman.

Unfortunately, Darron Gibson succeeded in doubling the lead just before half time, volleying in his effort from 18 yards.

After the break, it was much of the same. Man Utd were the dominating side while Derby pushed hard with little return.

It didn’t take long for Ronaldo to extend Man Utd’s lead, nodding in a third for Man Utd, essentially hitting the nail in the coffin for Derby.

In the 56th minute, Miles Addison threw Derby a lifeline after Robbie Savage took a quick free kick, Kris Commons centering it for Addison to head in, taking the score to 3-1.

This gave Derby the confidence to power forward, knowing they were capable of taking the scores level from recent efforts. Gary Teale kept breaking the Man Utd defence for the following 30 minutes but Derby failed to show any creativity in the box.

It was Danny Wellbeck who had the final say though. Fletcher flicked the ball to the left for Wellbeck to curl straight past Bywater.

That, they say, is the end of that chapter. Derby have had quite successful Cup campaigns this season and have only been beaten by the team who are looking to take all five trophies this season. It’s not a bad way to bow out.

Now it’s time to concentrate on the more important league and work our way out of the bottom half of the table. First up, Blackpool!

Since Nigel Clough took over at Derby County, the team’s performance has gone from strength to strength with fantastic performances against F*rest, Coventry and even in the defeats against Birmingham and Man Utd.

Derby’s trip to Plymouth’s Home Park was their opportunity to creap out of relegation, even leap-frog their opponents.

Just before the half time whistle, it was Gary Teale who gave Derby the lead when his huge 25-yard effort came off the bar and over the line.

After the break, it didn’t take long for Derby to double their lead with a trademark goal, seeing Rob Hulse connect with a cross from Kris Commons.

Some quick fire play and an assist from Gary Teale a few minutes later gave Hulse the opportunity to knock home his 13th goal of the season, his fifth in six games.

Another fantastic, solid perfomance from Derby show a side who have a new-found confidence with their new manager. Let’s hope this is the start of something beautiful, maybe even reminiscent of two seasons ago.

Derby’s FA Cup first leg against F*rest at Pride Park resulted in a 1-1 draw, giving Nigel Clough the opportunity of returning to his old City Ground to show the Reds exactly what Derby are capable of.

However, George Burley Billy Davies had other plans and within the minute, Chris Cohen thrashed in a left foot shot to give F*rest the early lead.

It didn’t take long for F*rest to get a second opportunity when Derby keeper Stephen Bywater brought down Nathan Tyson in the goal after beating our offside trap. Tyson’s needed little effort to give F*rest an early 2-0 lead and a foot hold over Derby.

Thankfully, Derby were quick to retaliate, pushing forward against F*rest’s defence and creating plenty of opportunities. Robbie Savage was on form in the centre of the field, giving Derby plenty of confidence as well as opening up F*rest’s defence for Rob Hulse, Paul Green and Kris Commons to break though.

After just ten minutes, Gary Teale managed to deliver a fine cross for Rob Hulse to meet and nod in to give Derby that much-needed goal, lifting Derby’s spirits for the remaining minutes of the first half

The second half was where the excitement was at. Both teams fought hard with plenty of chances at both ends of the pitch, but it was Derby who seemed to be dominating.

Deadlock was broken though In the 60th minute when Teale knocked another fine ball in for Paul Green to convert for Derby – it was 2-2 and there was everything to play for.

Remarkably, F*rest struggled to overpower Derby on their home turf through the rest of the second half. Kris Commons was determined to get the winning shot, rattling the up-right with one shot and narrowly mising with another.

His dreams came true though in the 74th minute when his shot took a slight deflection, beating F*rest’s keeper Paul Smith and meeting the back of the net. After all the booing from his old team’s supporters, it must have felt fantastic to get the winning goal in such a prestigous Cup tie.

It was an emotional game for many, with George Burley Billy Davies being beaten by his old side, Nigel Clough beating his old side and Kris Commons, once again, scoring the vital goal.

Derby will now face Man Utd (yet again) in the fifth round of the FA Cup on Sunday 15th February back at Pride Park. If we can repeat what happened in the Carling Cup, there’s no reason why Derby can’t progress to the quarter finals.

Now, back to the league…

After Derby’s defeat at Birmingham on Tuesday, Derby had dropped into the relegation zone and were desperate to get a win against Midlands rivals Coventry.

Rob Hulse was on form from the off with two very close attempts on goal in the space of 10 minutes. It was in the 14th minute when Hulse managed to head home from a corner Coventry failed to clear.

Only two minutes later, Hulse had crossed in for Kris Commons to hit home from 10 yards, giving Derby a two goal advantage over Coventry.

Derby showed huge strength throughout the first with plenty of opportunities to go three goals up – they were on fire.

In the second half, Coventry found a consolation goal when Clinton Morrison setup Michael Doyle to score from a mere six yards.

Derby still dominated the game throughout the second half but struggled to get a third. Regardless, it was the first league win in ten games, lifting Derby out of relegation and Nigel Clough‘s first win in charge.

Things can only get better, right?

After a week of Cup matches against Manchester United and Nottingham Forest, Derby had to change focus back to the more important task of improving their league performance with a trip to St Andrews to face promotion-chasing Birmingham.

Derby pretty much dominated the entire first half, seeing Kris Commons whacking one of his trademark strikes over the bar and Rob Hulse shooting straight at Blues’ keeper Maik Taylor.

It was in the second half when Derby let their guard down. Hameur Bouazza managed to break Derby’s defence, crossed the ball in from the right where Lee Carsley had the simple task of nodding in to give Birmingham the lead.

That didn’t stop Derby though – the sheer determination showed with plenty of strong efforts from the Rams such as when Hulse forced Taylor to tip over a late head and Carsley ensuring Miles Addison‘s attempt didn’t make the back of the net.

Despite the scoreline and entry into relegation, Derby showed good character tonight and Nigel Clough seemed happy enough with the effort they put in. Let’s just hope they can get a much needed win over Midlands’ rivals Coventry City on Saturday.

Derby had a difficult week ahead of them this week with two very important Cup fixtures lined up. After Man Utd knocked Derby out of the Carling Cup on Tuesday night, Derby had to concentrate on beating arch rivals Nottingham Forest to progress to the 5th round of the FA Cup.

Both sides fought hard though it was Derby who took the lead in the first half. Paul Green smartly dummied a shot on goal, instead passing to Paul Connolly who crossed for Rob Hulse to fire home.

The tense match continued in the second half, both Derby and Forest working hard to beat the others. After 63 minutes though, Forest pretty much mimicked Derby’s maneouvres from the first half when Nathan Tyson‘s dummied Derby’s defence, allowing Robert Earnshaw the chance to finish from eight yards.

The game finished 1-1 forcing the return replay the other end of Brian Clough Way at the City Ground, scheduled for Wednesday 4th February 2009. Nigel Clough will be looking forward to his travels, visiting his old team and, hopefully, putting one over them.

After Kris Commons gave Derby the edge over Manchester United in the first leg of the Carling Cup, expectations were high for a similar performance on their return journey to Old Trafford. Nigel Clough’s first game in charge against QPR wasn’t particularly successful so there was a lot of pressure on the Super Rams.

It didn’t take long for Man Utd to level the scores when striker Nani punched a ferocious strike past Roy Carroll in the 16th minute.

That wasn’t the end of it neither. Man Utd were keen to show Derby who was boss with John O’Shea and Carlos Tevez both firing home goals past Derby’s broken defence in the first half, essentially wrapping up the tie.

After the break, Derby came back out with a stronger attitude. Clough had obviously inspired the boys with some harsh words and it showed. There were quite a few oppotunities when Derby looked to recoup their losses, slipping through Man Utd’s defence and retaliating on the break.

In the 80th minute, Derby were thrown a life line when Paul Green was brought down in the box from an injured Jonny Evans. Substitute Giles Barnes took decided to take the responsibility and rightly so – it was 3-2 with 10 minutes left to play.

Nine minutes later, Caroll foolishly bought down Tevez in the box, allowing Cristiano Ronaldo to hammer home another for Man Utd.

That didn’t stop Derby fighting though. Barnes stepped up for a free kick during injury time and proved why he is such a star striker, whacking another past Foster, handing Derby one last chance of taking it to extra time.

But it wasn’t to be. The whistle was blown and Derby’s dream of a trip to Wembley crumbled away.

Regardless of the defeat, Derby proved they are capable of some astonishing performances. At times, they were the stronger team against England’s finest. Man Utd could never take that pride away from Derby.

Nigel Clough must have been ecstatic with Derby’s Carling Cup win over Manchester United last week, expecting to see a new lease of life in Derby’s performance. His expectations against QPR could only have been more of the same, if not more.

Rob Hulse and Kris Commons both had reasonable attempts on goal in the first half but, unfortunately, nothing came of either shot.

After 22 minutes though, Wayne Routledge gave QPR the advantage slotting in a low strike past Carroll.

Confidence dwindled in the Derby camp, so much so that they allowed Mikele Leigertwood to hit the back of the net after more impressive work from Routledge before half time.

In the second half, Derby had more chances to level the score with Miles Addison and Andy Todd both challenging QPR keeper Radek Cerny but it wasn’t to be. QPR held strong and took all three points.