Nottingham Forest beat Derby County 1-0 at the City Ground this weekend, but it was a game filled with controversy, as the East Midlands Derby clashes so often are.
Lewis Grabban capitalised on a mistake from Derby’s right-back Jayden Bogle in the 56th minute to score the only goal of the game and secure three points that helped Forest keep their place in the Sky Bet Championship Play-Off places.
The Reds are currently seven points and an impressive 11 places above their East Midlands rivals, something that will delight the fans.
One of Forest’s biggest fans, Kenny Burns, who helped the club to two successive European Cups in 1979 and 1980, has slammed Derby County for their ill-discipline during Saturday’s fiesty game.
Writing on his weekly column in the Nottingham Post (via the Derby Telegraph), Burns was less than happy with the attitude of some of the Derby County players.
“Tom Lawrence’s challenge on Ribeiro was an absolute disgrace and he should have been sent off for what was a cowardly tackle,” he said.
“He’d been getting plenty of abuse throughout the game from the crowd and his bright opening had started to fade away, so even if he was frustrated, there’s no excuse for that. He’s a very lucky boy.”
Lawrence is one of the players who is currently involved in the controversy surrounding Derby County at the moment. He was involved in a traffic incident a few months ago which saw him and team mate Mason Bennett charged with drink driving, while club captain Richard Keogh was sacked for his role in the incident.
Kenny Burns was quick to acknowledge Derby’s problems, and said that despite the rivalry between the two clubs he hopes they get sorted quickly.
“Make no mistake about it, Derby have got problems to resolve. I think they’ll probably just about survive this season, I hope they do anyway,” he said.
