NIGEL Clough hopes to see more from the partnership between Conor Sammon and Jamie Ward after the pair combined to good effect on Saturday.
Ward netted Derby County’s equaliser in the 1-1 draw with East Midlands rivals Nottingham Forest after good work from frontman Sammon.
That was enough for the Rams to retain the Brian Clough Trophy and extend their unbeaten run over the Reds to four matches.
Clough said: “The goal was brilliant, Conor did so well and Jamie took it superbly too.
“It showed once again that there’s a partnership between them that we like; and hopefully we’ll see more of it in the second half of the season and it will continue to blossom.
“We’ve been without what we consider to be our first-choice strike partnership for four months, which is difficult when you’re missing your main goal threat.
“He’s got a license to roam as well and he made a real impact; hopefully he can stay fit now because we certainly do miss him.
“We’ve got a good record against Forest and we’re pleased to be able to extend that.
“We’d have loved nothing more than to win the game today, but a point is a good one for us and it keeps the run going nicely.”
Clough also believes that a draw was a fair result, with the Rams impressing up to Forest’s opener, and then fighting back well after the break.
He said: “It was probably about the right result, although we did press on in the second half after we equalised – so a point is about fair I think.
“Despite going a goal down, the players kept doing the right things and our performance overall was pretty good, so we’re happy as they gave us everything once again.
“Local derbies can sometimes fail to live up to the hype, but today’s game was a really good football match between two good sides – and it was more free-flowing than the last few meetings and those who attended were treated to a cracking game.
“With a young and inexperienced side we were 1-0 down at home in a local derby, but the players showed plenty of character to get back level and then play as we did for 30 minutes or so.
“The goal Forest scored was a lucky break and the sort of one we’ve been crying out for in recent weeks, so that only added to our frustration but the players showed the right sort of reaction and that pleases us.
“It means we’ve only lost twice at home this season going into the end of January, which is something we’re very proud of.”
