Rams Fans Remember Best & Worst vs. Forest
Friday, 12th Sep 2014 07:46 by Nathan Morley

Earlier this year - RamZone reporter Nathan Morley spoke to some fellow Rams fans - regarding their lasting memories of East Midlands encounters.

The interviews were taken before the 5 - 0 deforestation at the iPro, making it interesting reading, seeing which match they chose as their favourite, before that history making victory took place.

Over to you Nathan!

First up is Charlie McGrath, writer of a great blog ‘Rams Ramble’.

What is the best East Midlands derby you have witnessed?

Hmmm…that’s a difficult one! Any win against Forest is very special and I’ve been lucky enough to watch a few. One that stands out in my mind is the 4-2 win in March 2004.

Ian Taylor scored early on and then Peschisolido bagged a brace. It seemed like an easy victory was on the cards but Forest had other ideas and managed to pull back two goals. It was beginning to get tense until Peschisolido found Tudgay late on and his deflected shot secured a brilliant victory.

I can’t not mention the win at the City Ground with 10 men but as I wasn’t at the game, my favourite East Midlands derby is the 3-0 win back in December 2004. Our first goal in that game remains one of the best I’ve seen!

The quick passing and pace in the move is just breathtaking and one of my favourite ever players, Tommy Smith, was there to finish. Grzegorz Rasiak headed in a Smith cross and then tapped in from Morten Bisgaard’s cross to complete a cracking win.

What is the worst East Midlands derby you have witnessed?

The worst Derby v Forest match I’ve seen is probably the first of the 2013/14 season. Being a relatively young supporter, I’ve not experienced too many derby defeats so, for me, this one was particularly painful. It was the first time I’d been to the City Ground and, after that, I wouldn’t rush back.

Our performance was just terrible and we lost 1-0, without even putting up a fight. And, to add insult to injury, Nigel Clough, who I thought was doing a good job, was sacked shortly after full time.

Next up is Jonathan Rodgers, writer of the excellent ‘Facing Two Ways’.

What is the best East Midlands derby you have witnessed?

My first ever derby was the 4-1 victory over Forest in 1979 (the one with the classic Graham Richards commentary -”Forest are in absolute ruins!”). However, I was only ten years old then & don’t recall anything about the game other than being given humbugs by some oiks in the Normanton End.

So, the best one I’ve ever witnessed has to be the 2-0 FA Cup victory in 1983 (the game styled as Clough v Taylor). I was standing on the Popside with my dad for that game & will never forget the free kick from Archie Gemmil that put us ahead. His celebration was pretty good too.

What is the worst East Midlands derby you have witnessed?

To be honest, I can’t recall a game I’ve been to where we’ve lost.

Having said that, watching the game at the City Ground (last season on Sky) was a pretty awful experience!

Matt Bregazzi has also had his say.

What is the best East Midlands derby you have witnessed?

Without doubt for me the best has to be the 3-0 win under George Burley during the 2004/5 season. We had a terrific side that year who were desperately unlucky not to make at least the play-off final and we really put on a show that day.

Two from Gregorsz Rasiak and the pick of the bunch from Tommy Smith following a lovely move which encompassed a neat one-two between Inigo Idiakez and Morten Bisgaard.

The latter played the ball back in field to Idiakez, who squared for the onrushing Smith to side foot into the Forest net. One of those goals (and matches) I’ll always remember with great fondness.

What is the worst East Midlands derby you have witnessed?

Perhaps surprisingly, I’m choosing a Rams win for this one as well — the 1-0 victory in March 2012, courtesy of ‘Sir’ Jake Buxton’s late, late header. My reasoning is simple; aside from the winner in the 95th minute it was one of the most dull games of football you’re likely to see anywhere, ever.

The ball probably got the best vantage point of the afternoon on account of it being in the air immediately above Pride Park for about 60 mins of the match.

I don’t remember it being a particularly ill-tempered affair either (by the standards of this fixture, anyway), so it’s not like we had many handbags-at-five-paces incidents to distract from the aching boredom and alarming lack of quality on show.

For any neutrals who are reading that watched that match, I truly apologise.

And Finally, Tom Few looks back...

What is the best East Midlands derby you have witnessed?

Well, I missed out on going to the infamous 10 men 2-1 win, so it would have to be 1-0 in March 2012, purely for the atmosphere when Buxton scored.

What is the worst East Midlands derby you have witnessed?

Losing 1-0 at home in 2011, that was just such as dull fixture, luckily I also missed the 5-2 thrashing, so that is the best and the worst I have missed.

Thanks to these Rams fans for taking the time to answer my questions.

For more of Nathan's articles you can read his blog at www.derbycountyfan.com and follow him @ramscorner on Twitter.

Photo: Action Images

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