Nottingham Forest defeated Derby County 1-0 at the City Ground on Saturday to make it three wins on the spin against their fierce local rivals.
Lewis Grabban slotted home in the 56th minute, capitalising on an error from Jayden Bogle to notch for the seventh time this season.
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In truth, it was a cagey affair that matched the stereotype of a derby-day encounter. The first-half, in particular, was very edgy with both teams keen to not offer the other an inch.
Following the contest, we looked at four talking points from another Forest victory:
Tiago Silva’s tremendous trickery
The Portuguese maestro timed his best performance in English football to absolute perfection with a stunning showing against the Rams.
The 26-year-old tormented Derby with a string of neat touches and flicks, whilst his work without the ball was also impressive.
Signed from Feirense during the summer, Silva has taken some time to get used to the Championship but on this showing, he is one of the first names on Sabri Lamouchi’s team sheet.
Grabban comes up trumps
It really is time to put any myth regarding Lewis Grabban’s ability to bed once and for all.
His attitude, work rate and strike ratio have all come under scrutiny at various points of the current season but that must now stop.
On Saturday, Grabban needed just one chance to put Derby to the sword. His cool finish beyond Kelle Roos earned Forest three vital points and proved that on his day there are very few Championship strikers quite like the 31-year-old.
Samba stock continues to soar
Brice Samba is arguably Forest’s best piece of transfer business for many years.
Signed for just £1.8 million (Nottinghamshire Live) from Caen, the 25-year-old has quickly become established as the club’s number one goalkeeper.
On current form, he is showing all the attributes to suggest that he could become a top goalkeeper.
Samba already looks like the best custodian seen at the City Ground for many years and just doesn’t seem like making a mistake any time soon.
His ability at coming for crosses is quite simply a joy to behold, he is quick along his line and his distribution is fantastic.
Solidity personified
The resolute defending currently on display from Lamouchi’s team is a real joy to watch.
Right now Forest have a back five that are completely set on defending for their lives.
When the Reds go a goal in front they seem desperate to keep hold of their clean sheet and those qualities were evident once more on Saturday.
The competitive nature of the Championship means that Forest will concede goals but against Derby, it was evident that the Reds are learning their lessons defensively as the season progresses.
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