The East Midlands Derby returns on Friday night as Nottingham Forest host their nemesis Derby County at the City Ground in what will be quite the unusual surroundings due to Covid-19.

The last match between the two sides ended in late drama/disappointment as the Reds leading 1-0 at Pride Park surrendered an injury time equaliser in July in a game that would eventually go on to prove pivotal in Sabri Lamouchi’s side missing out on the playoffs but at least Forest, now under the stewardship of Chris Hughton, still hold on to the Brian Clough Trophy which they have kept in their cabinet since February 25^th 2019.

The small piece of silverware is to commemorate a hero that the two clubs share in Brian Clough, a man who remarkably won league titles with both Derby County and Nottingham Forest as Manager.

It was from that first and only league title year of Nottingham Forest that I remember seeing the oldest footage of the Reds beating the Rams. A VHS video (remember them) of that championship winning season in 77/78 included the early match in August against Colin Murphy’s team.

Derby had finished fifteenth in the top flight the previous season with Forest recently promoted (as third best in the Second Division) having won both their opening games in the First Division prior to the Rams coming into town.

A side that included Colin Todd and Roy McFarland were comprehensively beaten by Brian Clough’s men in red, Peter Withe volleying Forest into the lead after the half hour before tapping home a second half goal after an injection of pace provided by Tony Woodcock that hasn’t been seen at the City Ground since the days of Franz Carr. John Robertson rounding things off for an easy 3-0 win, it would be the later transfer of Robertson to Peter Taylor’s Derby County in 1983 that would infuriate Clough to spark a new found hatred between the two clubs, as well as the two old friends.

Peter Taylor, Clough’s well established right-hand man had controversially left Forest for Derby in 1982, in January 1983 the two sides met in the third round of the FA Cup with Derby by then in the second division. The Rams would win 2-0 at the Baseball Ground to provide a real shock of a cup upset, the pretender beating his master, by then, two ex-friends in Clough and Taylor had already fallen out. They would never speak to each other again.

By the time Derby County had returned to top flight football for the 1987/88 season they were by now under the Management of Arthur Cox and Ownership of Robert Maxwell. A young new-look Reds under Clough had already beaten their East Mids rivals 1-0 at the BBG thanks to a Paul Wilkinson goal, but it is a game I remember at the City Ground which has fond memories for me. A Nigel Clough double helping the Reds to a 2-1 win (in between a Colin Foster own goal) and double delight taking six points from the Rams that season, the words ‘Wilkinson, Clough, Magic, Magic’ still ringing down my ears from the commentator 22 years on.

It was another 2-1 win, all of sixteen months later that would also live long in the memory as favourable Forest derbies. In a game refereed by ‘Joe Worrall’ the name ‘Ted McMinn’ may act as timely reminder to what happened next. It was actually a Paul Blades tackle on Brian Rice that sparked outrage, an old fashioned two footed attempt, both feet off the ground, textbook GBH in what would be today’s game. Rice, dusted himself off and simply got on with it. Pearce however would not forget. In typical fashion the England left back ousted his opposite number in Ted McMinn, and not Blades, as the perpetrator, a thunderous tackle every bit as worse as the original sent McMinn rolling up in the air and out of the game. Pearce, thanks to Worrall, simply received a yellow card.

Prior to this, an own goal by Steve Hodge, heading a floated free-kick past Forest goalkeeper Steve Sutton gave Derby the lead which they kept until the break. Hodge however did make amends by crossing in for Crosby to tap in an equaliser in the second half before Stuart Pearce combined with Clough Jnr for one of those iconic and regular one-two’s before slotting past former Red Peter Shilton in the Derby County goal.

A memorable late winner scored by a player who perhaps shouldn’t have been on the pitch? Not that any Forest fans cared.

Another fond game I remember between the clubs was towards the end of the 1993/94 campaign when both sides were in the second tier of English football. Frank Clark’s Forest would be two wins from promotion and went to the Baseball Ground in fine form with just one defeat in twelve.

A hard low drilled bouncing free kick from Colin Cooper found the far corner of the net before ex-Red Gary Charles attempt to play the ball back to his goalkeeper was deflected off Steve Stone for a calamitous second and one that Forest fans thoroughly enjoyed.

A few days later came the train to Peterborough and promotion with it, oh what a party it was.

For many years after, through Forest’s demise it always felt Derby had slightly the better of the affairs. The Reds had a comprehensive win in 2003 thanks to Harewood, Huckerby & co but nothing much else to shout about. The Coffee Cup Derby in 2004 highlighting a period in the lives of Red Dogs that were perhaps best forgotten when it came to taking on the Rams.

By the time the Brian Clough Trophy was set in place for the two teams to contest in 2007, it was often Derby winning with the first 760 days of the trophy kept in the Pride Park cabinet… So remembering that first piece of silverware is also one that is most fondest for me, probably the most memorable too.

I struggled for a ticket that day, then a friend said he had two, so we arrived at the City Ground to meet a mate and it was only then that I realised we would be sitting ‘in the Derby end’ and ‘with the Derby fans’… “No bother to me”… I said to myself… I just hoped it would be 0-0 and we can all go back to the Southbank like none of this had happened.

Not so however, the game on Saturday August 29^th 2009 started with immediate euphoria. Raddy Majewski blasted Forest into the lead within a minute. Stuck in the Bridgford End I could not celebrate one bit. It got worse for me, better for Forest, Blackstock made it two before Tyson made it 3-0 going into half time. Forest fans singing, teasing, pointing at me like I’ve done something wrong.

But that wasn’t the worse bit… Derby would score early in the second half, Big Wes Morgan with an own goal, quite a theme it would seem on derby day. Jake Livermore then netted to set up a tense finish. I felt like I had 5,000 sheep on my back with fans celebrating and jumping all over me as the A Block looked on.

Thankfully Forest clung on, but then came the fireworks. Nathan Tyson running past us with the corner flag in his hands to spark outrage with the Derby players and fans… How I look back and think football is fickle, as all at County would soon be celebrating his work.

That game was followed a season later by one of the Reds most famous and celebrated modern day wins. A 5-2 thrashing in between Christmas and New Year of 2010/11 that included Reds goals for Ex-Rams Marcus Tudgay and Robbie Earnshaw. Forest doing the double that season with Earnie netting the winner at Pride Park just a month later.

Many games since have been edgy affairs, tense, unattractive, physical, tight, one springs to the mind not favourably for Forest fans when in March 2014 the Reds were thumped 5-0 at Pride Park. A year later however that result was put to bed of sorts when Forest returned to Pride Park and won. Iconic moments of Stuart Pearce running down the touchline after Ben ‘Ozzy’ Osborn’s last-minute winning goal will live forever in the hearts of Forest fans. Osborn the match winner, born in Derby, but well and truly raised and celebrated in Nottingham.

Post Ozzy we now celebrate Nelson Oliveira god-like in these parts, we don’t thank the self-proclaimed legend of Nicklas Bendtner for his time in Red which included yet another Forest-Derby own goal. We do celebrate Dani Pinillos and his last minute leveller with the Barnsley based Spaniard now ‘one of our own’… We celebrate Yohan Benaloune, Batman for the only decent thing he ever did in his time at the City Ground… We celebrate Jayden Bogle and his backpass that assisted Lewis Grabban to take the only chance he needed to win the game last year.

Derby Day, against Derby is something special, since 1898 and the FA Cup Final and strengthened since the days of Clough & Taylor it’s always been that way. Our town verses theirs, red verses white, Forest verses Derby, the way we want it to be.

Some memorable matches, some unforgettable moments, some tears of agony and some smiles of joy, 42 wins for Forest, 38 for Derby whilst 27 have been draws… What will be on Friday is just another piece to a magical encounter against the old arch-enemy, but it is far from being, just another game.

*Article provided by Daniel Peacock (Editor).

*Main image @Guardian Stuart Pearce celebrates Forest’s winning goal in 2015.