Nottingham Forest Women suffered a 2-0 defeat in a record breaking East Midlands Derby against their closest rivals Derby County Women.
A division record crowd of 4,443 looked on at The City Ground as first half goals from Emily Joyce and Ellie Gilliatt condemned The Reds to just their second league defeat of the season.
In a fiercely contested first half, Forest saw a penalty saved minutes before an unfortunate mix up allowed Joyce to tap in. Gilliatt doubled the Derby lead with a perfectly struck free kick almost 30 yards out.
Forest battled to get back into the contest but could not break through a stern Derby County defence. The defeat sees Andy Cook’s side slip to 6th in the FAWNL Northern Premier Division.
The game started very cagey, as expected with it being such a big occasion. Both sides took time to settle into the match and Forest were the first to create an opportunity. Amy West met Becky Anderson’s cross but her looping header clipped off the post.
A few minutes later, Forest had a penalty. Freya Thomas was brought down under a challenge from two Derby defenders and the referee pointed to the spot. Rosie Axten stepped up and hit her penalty well but Charlotte Clarke in the Derby goal was equal to it, producing a fantastic save high to her right.
After the penalty, Derby had the momentum. A mix up at the back ended with the ball falling kindly to Joyce, six yards out from an open net, and Forest were behind. Just two minutes later, Gilliatt made it 2-0. A free kick arrowed into the bottom corner left Forest with a mountain to climb.
The Reds rallied in the second half, spurred on by the largest crowd in Women’s third tier history. Attacking the Trent End, Rachel Brown continuously got the ball forward down the left hand side but Derby held firm to deny many clear chances.
As Forest pressed to get back into the game, Derby were looking to sit deep and counter. Sophie Domingo latched onto a Derby clearance and raced past Olivia Cook and Lyndsey Harkin to find herself one on one. The whole stadium expected her to make it 3-0 but LJ O’Neill made an incredible sliding challenge to prevent the attacker getting her shot away.
The introduction of Katie Middleton and Mai Moncaster added some fresh legs to the Forest front line, as they looked to get balls in behind. Moncaster provided the best cross of the second half, as she whipped the ball across the face of goal and was just inches away from finding the feet of Jade Arber.
The game ended 2-0 to Derby who now move above Forest in the FAWNL Northern Premier Division. Forest will be looking to bounce back from this defeat on Tuesday evening when they face West Bromwich Albion Women at Coles Lane.
You can next see the Reds back at Eastwood on Sunday 24th October when they welcome Middlesbrough Women to Nottinghamshire.
Forest XI (4-3-3): Batty; Greengrass (Moncaster 83'), Harkin, Cook (Steggles 87'), O’Neill; Anderson, West, Thomas; Axten (Middleton 75'), Brown (Hewitt 87'), Arber (Powell 87').