East Midlands Derby - Post 2000

Post 2000

Forest's relegation from the Premier League in the 1998/99 season meant that the first meeting between the two clubs in the new millennium did not occur until the 2002/03 season, following Derby's relegation from the top flight in the previous season. A 0–0 draw at Pride Park Stadium was followed by a 3–0 win for Forest at the City Ground, Forest's first victory in the fixture since 1994. The fixture was contested four more times over the next two years as both clubs remained rooted in the Football League Championship with arguably the most notable fixture between the two clubs coming on 20 March 2004 at the Pride Park Stadium, which Derby won 4–2. Both clubs were battling to avoid the drop into League One at the time, which ensured much media attention regarding the ailing fortunes of the two most prominent clubs in the career of the legendary Brian Clough. It was the highest scoring encounter between the clubs since 1970 and was also memorable for 'The Coffee Cup Incident', the cup was retrieved by groundstaff and is still in the Derby trophy cabinet. As the ball travelled back to Forest keeper Barry Roche, it struck a coffee cup and bobbled up, causing Roche to slice it neatly into the path of Paul Peschisolido, who took full advantage to put the ball into an empty net and put Derby 2–0 up. Whilst both clubs eventually survived relegation, the following season Forest went down to League One, were they remained for three seasons.

When the fixture returned in the 2008/09 season, after Forest's promotion and Derby's relegation from the Premiership, it was held a record four times. Following a 1–1 draw at Pride Park Stadium in the league in October 2008, the teams were then drawn against in the FA Cup fourth round. Following a 1–1 draw at Pride Park Stadium, Derby won the replay 3–2, after being 2–0 down within the first 15 minutes, ex-Forest player Kris Commons scoring the winner. It was Derby's first win at the City Ground since 1971 and their first away win under new manager Nigel Clough. They won again at the City Ground just three weeks later, this time winning 3–1 in the Football League Championship, meaning Derby negotiated all four fixtures without defeat and stretched their unbeaten record in the fixture to eight games.

Forest finally earned their first win in the fixture in six years with a 3–2 victory at the City Ground on 29 August 2009 before Derby, struggling in 19th, won the return match 1–0, second-placed Nottingham Forest's first defeat in 19 matches and their first away defeat of the campaign, on 30 January 2010. The following season Forest earned the first league double in the fixture for 20 years with a 5-2 mauling at the City Ground being followed by a first ever win at Pride Park.

With Derby again surviving a close-run relegation battle and Forest again failing in the playoffs, the fixture returned for a fourth consecutive season, the longest run since it was held in four consecutive seasons between 1987 and 1991. The 2011/12 season saw Derby claim a first league double in the fixture since 1972, with the City Ground meeting seeing Derby recover from being a man and goal down after 5 minutes to win 2-1 at the City Ground before Jake Buxton's stoppage timer winner earned a 1-0 win in the second match. Derby's dominance in the fixture continued into the 2012/13 season as yet another City Ground victory, their fourth victory in six trips to the stadium; it was also the first time Derby had beaten Forest in three consecutive meetings for over 100 years and meant Derby had lost just three of the previous fifteen fixtures. The return fixture ended in a 1–1 draw, with Chris Cohen scoring for Forest in the first half, with Jamie Ward equalising early in the second half.

The total record over the past 10 years reads –