Derby 0-0 Nottingham Forest: Rams miss the chance to climb the table

Derby County and Nottingham Forest played out a tight and tense 0-0 draw at Pride Park, as Rams boss Frank Lampard got his first taste of the east-Midlands derby. The result keeps the home side in fourth position in the table with 38 points, seven behind new leaders Leeds United.

In a physically demanding first half, Derby were denied a penalty after Tom Lawrence was brought down by Tendayi Darikwa. The crowd didn’t like the decision from the referee as they felt it was a clear spot kick.

Tom Huddlestone went close with a close-range effort which was just off target. The hosts pushed hard for the lead and it seemed like the Forest defence would buckle sooner than later. But credits to Aitor Karanka’s men for hanging on as much as they could and start creating chances of their own.

The away side’s best chance of the first half came from the in-form Lewis Grabban, however, Scott Carson was determined not to be beaten as he turned the shot aside. Joe Lolley went very close to winning the game after the break when he had a curling effort crashing the bar. He also tested Carson with another attempt before that.

With around 15 minutes to go, Harry Wilson came up with a spectacular volley but Costel Pantilimon was equal to the task and denied the Liverpool loanee.

Hence, both goalkeepers played a big part in this tight goalless draw. Derby County missed a chance to leapfrog West Brom in the table, while Nottingham Forest missed an opportunity to topple Middlesbrough in the table and take the sixth position.

Here’s how the Derby fans reacted to the result on the social media:

Shocking performance, awful in every area

— •Kyle• (@KyleDCFC7) December 17, 2018

Crap game all round.

— MusouSteven (@SteWilson94) December 17, 2018

great result tonight that @dcfcofficial and @NFFC

— Thames Valley Whites (@TV_WHITES) December 17, 2018

Good game that we knew would be tought but we peformed very well. Just need to be more accurate when it comes to going for goals.🐏

— 🇬🇧 MATT 🇬🇧 (@MATTHEWDREUITT) December 17, 2018

They came just to stop us and hoped they’d get more than a point, which resulted in a nothing derby performance.

— Andrew Watson (@DontParkBuses) December 17, 2018

Poor performance tonight only marriott n malone came out of the game with any credit

— Garry Fawcett (@GarryFawcett2) December 17, 2018