Gary Rowett was denied victory in his first game in charge of Derby County as Nottingham Forest struck a late equaliser to salvage a draw from a hotly contested East Midlands derby clash.
Zach Clough broke the deadlock with an early strike, but, with the Rams rejuvenated after the interval, Matěj Vydra and David Nugent netted inside a devastating five-minute spell to edge the visitors in front at the City Ground.
The Reds were indebted to their goalkeeper, Jordan Smith, who kept the hosts in the game after that – all before Daniel Pinillos powered a header into the back of the net to nick a point.
That prevented the Rams from, albeit temporarily, closing the gap on the play-off positions to seven points, whilst, possibly more importantly, it kept Mark Warburton’s Nottingham Forest outside of the relegation zone.
Early goals have been a regular theme of these encounters at the City Ground and although this was a new dawn for both sides, the early goal sequence was one that continued once more.
Clough is a name enriched in the histories of both Nottingham Forest and Derby County, but in the modern era, the hosts appear to have a name sake on their books to laud.
Zach is a bustling attacking midfielder who forged a promising reputation on the books of Bolton Wanderers and whilst it may take years for him to earn the legendary status Brian did at the City Ground, his goal in the early stages of this meeting ensured his popularity only heightened.
It came after the Rams had started brightly, but once Forest established control of the ball, they looked strong in possession and after good period of play, Pinillos whipped a dangerous ball into the box that was tapped in by Clough, before the onrushing Scott Carson could get a hand to it.
It was a far from ideal start to Rowett’s time as manager and with the rain pouring, the next 10 minutes were about Derby weathering the storm.
Ben Osborn was next to try his luck minutes later, bending a shot over after a quick exchange with Britt Assombalonga on the edge of the area, whilst the same man repeated the trick later on, this time with his right foot, after a half clearance dropped in his path.
A youthful Forest continued to dictate proceedings as the clock ticked towards 20 minutes.
Assombalonga dug out a cross from a tight angle on the left that hit the woodwork and with the ball bouncing around, Ben Brereton followed up, but was denied at the near post by a crucial block from Craig Bryson.
The Rams survived the onslaught, steadying the ship in the process and they should have got themselves back on level terms after that.
Bradley Johnson had a goal chalked off on 27 minutes after Smith, the Forest ‘keeper, was adjudged to have been fouled from a corner and no more than a minute later, good pressing from Nugent set up a chance for Tom Ince on the edge of the area, but he fired over.
Ince continued to be thwarted. He had two further efforts before the interval, seeing one beaten away by Smith and another fly over the crossbar as the Reds headed into the break a goal ahead.
That aside, Derby had grown stronger as the first half wore on and with Rowett’s words ringing in their ears, the Rams built on their showing and took their performance to another level in the second 45 minutes.
The effect, in fact, was devastating – so much so that the visitors struck twice in a deadly five-minute spell to turn the game on its head as they edged in front.
Vydra struck first, converting Russell’s cross from close range to send the away supporters into raptures, but it got better moments later, as Nugent bagged his second Derby goal minutes later, rising highest to head in Bradley Johnson’s cross, via the help of the far post.
They had their chances to add to the scoreline as a clearly rattled Forest struggled to contend with Rowett’s rejuvenated side.
Ince clipped the crossbar with a free kick from the edge of the area, Johnson saw an effort saved and Alex Pearce had a header also saved on the goalline as the Rams laid siege on the Forest goal in an attempt to get the all-important third goal.
Ince had a fifth effort as the clock ticked past the 70-minute mark, but fired wide after cutting past Pinillos, whilst Jacob Butterfield, off the substitutes bench, was also denied by the busy Smith, who had kept the hosts alive and kicking in the contest.
The Reds, though, should have been dead and buried, but Derby couldn’t find a way through and the door was left ajar, giving Forest a glimmer of hope.
With nothing more to lose, Warburton’s side switched the pressure and aimed all their efforts at Carson’s goal and it looked as though the Rams had got away with it after Apostolos Vellios cracked the post with a fierce strike from range.
There was also a strong penalty appeal from the furious Forest players, but from a corner soon after, they rescued a point as Pinillos rose highest to power a header into the back of the net – a crucial goal that prevented the hosts from falling into the Championship’s relegation zone.
Nottingham Forest: Smith, Pinillos, Mancienne, Cohen (Cash, 71), Assombalonga (Vellios, 79), Osborn, Fox, Clough (McCormack, 63), Vaughan, Worrall, Brereton
Substitutes not used: Evtimov, Pereira, Kasami, Lam
Derby County: Carson, Baird, Keogh (C), Pearce, Olsson; Bryson, Johnson; Ince, Russell, Vydra (Butterfield, 73); Nugent (Bennett, 82)
Substitutes not used: Mitchell, Christie, Anya, Hughes, Camara
Attendance: 26,665 (1,951 away supporters)
