Derby County Women recorded an impressive 2-1 victory at East Midlands rivals Nottingham Forest in the FA Women's National League Northern Premier Division on Sunday afternoon.
Derby stormed into a two-goal lead early on at the City Ground thanks to strikes from Yasmin Mosby and Eleanor Ashton.
Forest hit back to pull a goal back from the penalty spot before half-time through Holly Manders and, despite standing up to second half pressure, Sam Griffiths' side held on to record a superb win.
The victory was the perfect way to start a three-game week with the Ewes hosting Stoke City on Wednesday evening at the Don Amott Arena (8pm kick-off) and then hitting the road again on Sunday when they travel to Huddersfield Town (2pm kick-off).
“The Players Bought Into Everything Asked Of Them And I Am So Proud” - Griffiths
Manager Sam Griffiths was beaming with pride after seeing her side produce a big performance to collect all three points at the City Ground.
Forest are one of the sides heavily tipped to be competing for promotion from the third tier this term and Griffiths was thrilled with the way the Ewes stepped up to the plate.
She was particularly pleased with the way each player stuck to the game plan at the City Ground.
Being the underdogs was something Griffiths and the squad discussed prior to kick-off and she felt the group collectively thrive off that particular tag.
She said: “We always try and play the game down because we don’t want the girls to feel any more pressure and we set up like just another normal league game.
“However, you can’t away from the fact it is a local derby and we have a lot of Derby girls in this squad who understand what it means.
“I said before we went out that we were probably the underdogs and it is something we thrive off at the minute.
“This group work so hard at training and listen to everything that is being asked of them. They bought into everything today in terms of how we wanted to play and the energy we wanted them to play with. I am so proud of them; we have a special group and they thoroughly deserve it.”
Yasmin Mosby and Eleanor Ashton’s goals came inside the opening ten minutes to give Derby a dream start across the East Midlands.
Griffiths admitted she was somewhat in shock at the Ewe’s blistering start and joked: “It was great to get those early goals and to be honest it isn’t something we’ve been too used to!
“After scoring and certainly after half time we did consider if we needed to change anything in terms of going for it or protecting what we had, but you can’t do the latter against good teams.
“They had some good chances in the second half but I am just buzzing for the girls.”
After claiming all three points against their local rivals, and after a mixed start to the season in terms of results, Griffiths is confident the victory over Forest is the perfect platform for the Ewes to kick on in the weeks ahead.
She said: “We’ve had an up-and-down start to the season and there have been games we’ve been disappointed with in terms of the levels we’ve got to.
“We’ve got this win here, a big one, and we need to push on. We’ve got Stoke on Wednesday and Huddersfield on Sunday and we need to go into each of them believing we can win.”
“We Can't Let This Go To Waste Now” - Sims
Captain Amy Sims admitted the side can’t let the impressive away day victory go to waste moving forward.
Sims, celebrating her first East Midlands Derby win wearing the armband, says the Ewes now have the perfect platform to kick on after an inconsistent start to the 2023/24 season in the league.
With a home game against Stoke City to come on Wednesday at the Don Amott Arena and a trip to Huddersfield Town on the agenda on Sunday, Derby have the chance to rack up a healthy return of points in a short space of time.
Sims said: “There is no better feeling. Coming here, beating Forest on their home ground and the way we played as well, seeing it out for the whole second half, I am so proud of the girls.
“I think this result has to push us on now. There’s no point coming to Forest and winning and then dropping points elsewhere.”
She added: “Stoke City on Wednesday is a massive game, as is Huddersfield on Sunday as well. Momentum is massive in football and we’ve got to take all forward now. Hopefully this is a great starting point to keep building on.”
“I Am So Proud To Represent This Great Club” - Joyce
Midfielder Emily Joyce picked the perfect occasion to mark her 100th appearance in Derby County colours at the City Ground.
Last season’s Player of the Season has been a mainstay in the side in recent years, especially after recovering from a long-term knee injury sustained prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, is a lifelong Derby supporter and was thrilled to play her part in the victory over the Reds.
She said: “We had the belief that we could come here and win and to get the three points against Forest is something we are all buzzing about.
“To make 100 appearances too is amazing; I am just so happy to represent this great club.”
“We Can Compete With Anyone In This League” - Ward
Club captain Hannah Ward came off the bench at half-time and played a vital role in the Derby backline during the second half at the City Ground.
Ward replaced Camille Jenkins at right-back and produced a typically solid showing as the Ewes held on to claim all three points.
The experienced defender, who is closing in on 300 appearances for the Ewes, believes the win over the Reds was a timely reminder that Derby can very much mix it with the best the league has to offer.
She said: “It is hard to sum it all up but the biggest emotion really is being proud of all the girls.
“It was a massive squad effort and a huge performance on a big pitch which made it really tiring. We started so well by scoring after a few minutes and to get another steadied the ship for us a bit.
“It is always important to go out onto the pitch really positive and sometimes this season we probably haven’t got the rewards that we deserved, so it is nice to put that right.”
She added: “I think this sort of result shows we can compete against anyone in this league. It is a competitive division and to get a win over Forest, a top side, at the City Ground is always exciting.”