Derby were not at their best against Forest in this East Midlands derby but came away with a point after Chris Martin scored a late equaliser with virtually the last kick of the game. Forest had gone ahead in the first-half through Joe Lolley and wasted chances to add to their lead, with their organised team structure restricting Derby from gaining any attacking momentum for a lot of the match. The late goal came minutes after Martyn Waghorn had received a straight red for Derby after a reckless tackle.
Ratings
- A1 – Very good, could play higher
- A2 – Strong potential to play higher
- B1 – Good, strong player at level
- B2 – Potential to be strong player at level
- C – Average for the level, rewatch
- D – Below average in this match
Player Profile:
- Nationality: English
- Age: 18
- Date of birth: 13/09/2001
- Club: Derby County
- Career: Derby County
- Position: Attacking Midfield
- Preferred foot: Left
Sibley occupied a very advanced role, almost as more of a second striker, playing close to Chris Martin up front to get on the end of knock-downs and making runs in behind when the central midfielders got on the ball. He struggled to get on the ball in this game, with Forest overloading the midfield areas and Ben Watson man-marking him.
He did manage to find a few pockets to receive the ball in and he displayed a good ability to use his body position and first touch to create space and accelerate away from his opponent. He showed good footwork in tight areas and is very hard to dispossess with the ball at his feet but Forest largely kept him quiet by limiting the space he had to operate in.
He worked hard and pressed well out of possession but needed to be more disciplined to avoid giving away cheap free-kicks and was lucky to escape with just a yellow card for a rash challenge on Tiago Silva.
Rating: A2
Sibley is a real talent and it says a lot about him that Forest payed him such special attention to limit his output in this game.
Player Profile:
- Nationality: English
- Age: 19
- Date of birth: 18/09/2000
- Club: Derby County
- Career: Derby County
- Position: Defensive Midfield
- Preferred foot: Left
Bird played in the centre of midfield next to Rooney and his ball recoveries and calm recycling of possession were important for Derby as they tried to control the game.
He worked quietly to break up the play, not often going to ground but making well-timed challenges to dispossess opponents and disrupt passing moves. He will be disappointed with his role in the Forest goal as he did not get out to Lolley quick enough and turned his back on the shot as he closed it down but that was the only mistake in a strong defensive performance.
In possession he played mostly short one and two-touch passes, acknowledging the creative ability of Rooney beside him. However, there is a danger that Derby are over-reliant on Rooney to create from deep and Bird seemed to lack the range to execute more difficult passes. His strengths lie in his defensive abilities but improving his progressive passing ability would be beneficial if he is to make the step up to the Premier League.
Rating: A2
Bird is growing in confidence and will be receiving a great footballing education playing next to Rooney. It won’t be long before he makes the step up to the Premier League.
Player Profile:
- Nationality: English
- Age: 23
- Date of birth: 22/09/1996
- Club: Derby County (on loan from Brighton)
- Career: Ipswich Town, Portsmouth FC, Brighton & Hove Albion FC, Derby County (L)
- Position: Centre Back
- Preferred foot: Left
Clarke put in a great performance for Derby, using his height and physicality to consistently and dominantly win his defensive duels. He stands at 6’1 and is very well built with a large frame that makes him a difficult opponent to get past. However, given this he is also surprisingly agile with the ball at his feet and showed good press resistance and composure with sharp changes of direction away from his opponent.
He saw a lot of the ball as Derby played out from the back but the structured Forest approach meant he was not given many passing options. He needed to recognise the need for more urgency, though, as a possession-based system still requires purpose and Derby needed to progress the ball quicker before Forest had the chance to find their defensive shape.
He started to do this more in the second-half, playing accurate forward passes early and driving into the opposition half as Forest sat back in a low block. His ground defence is strong as his reading of the game allows him to step in front of his opponent and win possession. He was dominant in the air, using his strength to pin opponents down and generating good power in his headers.
Rating: A1
Clarke is ready for Premier League football and would fit well into Graham Potter’s preferred 3-4-3 system, hopefully will break into the first-team next season.
Player Profile:
- Nationality: English
- Age: 19
- Date of birth: 27/07/2000
- Club: Derby County
- Career: Derby County
- Position: Right Back
- Preferred foot: Right
Bogle had a solid if unremarkable game from right-back, getting into good attacking positions but failing to utilise them to create chances. He liked to push high up the pitch and get crosses into the box but needs to improve the quality of his deliveries as too often they were into the right area but slightly behind the attacker.
He had good pace and accuracy on his passes into central areas and showed good speed when making overlapping runs. However, he needs to maintain concentration in attacking situations as occasionally he would miscontrol or take his eye off the ball which led to moves breaking down.
Defensively he was not called into action too often, he likes to play on the front foot and engage early but he was caught out a few times when committing to challenges too soon. He had to alter his approach in the second-half with the introduction of Diakhaby as his pace made it risky for Bogle to play high up the pitch and leave space in behind.
Rating: B1
Bogle was not as effective going forward as he can be in this game, although finding consistency is difficult at his age and he showed glimpses of the potential that has seen him linked with moves to the Premier League.
Player Profile:
- Nationality: Irish
- Age: 19
- Date of birth: 13/02/2001
- Club: Derby County
- Career: Cabinteely FC (Y), Derby County
- Position: Left Winger
- Preferred foot: Right
Knight worked characteristically hard on the left wing with his self-less running and impressive defensive work rate. He tracked runners and was strong in the tackle to provide extra protection to the back four but was very quiet going forward as he did not see enough of the ball to impact the game.
Derby started the game sitting very deep which meant that Knight was not able to use his pace to make runs in behind or with the ball at his feet. He started to come short to collect the ball from the centre-backs and lay it off to the full-backs which was effective in progressing the ball further up the pitch but he barely touched the ball in the final third and was substituted early in the second-half.
Rating: B2