, 3 Derby County players who struggled against Nottingham Forest

3 Derby County players who struggled against Nottingham Forest

Derby County are hopefully entering the final stretch of a long-running takeover and administration saga. A fresh bid for the club was put forward on Friday.

Derby fans will be hoping that this could change the club’s fortunes. The Rams are on a good run of form with four wins in their last six games – leaving them just eight points from safety.

And they faced Midlands rivals Nottingham Forest at the City Ground this weekend.

Forest themselves are eyeing up the play-offs and entered the game in 10th place of the Championship table.

The match report

The first half was was an even affair with the Rams shading the possession (51.2%/48.8%) but with home side Forest (5) creating more chances than Derby County (2) could muster. The closest Wayne Rooney’s side came to scoring was an effort scuffed wide by Tom Lawrence in a goalless half of football.

The second half saw Forest off to a flying start, with Lewis Grabban scoring his 12th goal of the season for the home side. It was all Forest as far as chances went in these opening exchanges despite Derby still having the upper hand in terms of possession.

Forest continued to pile on the pressure and that told with Brennan Johnson increasing their lead late on. Derby weren’t out of it and they showed that, pulling one back through Lawrence shortly before full-time who converted from the spot. Apart from a late red card for Ravel Morrison, that proved to be the last of the action in a 2-1 Forest win.

Here are three Derby County players who failed to impress in the loss to Steve Cooper’s Forest outfit.

Ravel Morrison – WhoScored rating 4.91

Journeyman Morrison was a 60th-minute substitute, replacing youngster Festy Ebosele. His contribution in the time he was on the pitch would need to be crucial. When a level head was needed, he let his side down with a late, straight red card. He completed just eight passes, made two tackles and just one interception.

Festy Ebosele – WhoScored rating 5.94

In a game where opportunities were limited for Derby, 19-year-old right-sided midfielder Ebosele didn’t really get much of a look-in. His 60 minutes on the pitch saw him not see much of the ball (0.9%) as he struggled to make an impact. He only completed three passes in a low-volume game where he only made five attempts. A game to forget, perhaps.

Colin Kazim-Richards – WhoScored rating 6.02

Veteran striker Kazim-Richards struggled to impose himself as the spearhead of Derby County’s attack. He completed nine of his 11 pass attempts but really struggled to get into a position to be much of a threat. It wasn’t the best of games for the Rams front-man who failed to add to his three goals for the club.

Data derived from the Nottingham Forest vs Derby County match profile on the WhoScored.com website

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