Matty Cash, Joe Worrall and Brice Samba all shone as Nottingham Forest battered Championship rivals Derby County in the Carabao Cup second round.
The Brian Clough trophy is staying at the City Ground.
Tuesday night’s clash between Nottingham Forest and Derby County on the banks of the Trent was more than your average run-of-the-mil Carabao Cup second round clash.
It represented a meeting between two of the most historic rivals in English football and a chance for Sabri Lamouchi or Phillip Cocu to give their popularity an almighty boost just weeks into their careers in English football.
But it quickly became apparent that Derby were not going to be claiming the bragging rights, or a place in the third round for that matter, during a miserable evening at the City Ground.
Cocu’s bleating Rams drowned in a sea of red as Albert Adomah, Joe Lolley and Joao Carvalho secured a 3-0 scoreline – Forest’s biggest win over their old rivals since a Marlon Harewood-inspired battering in March 2003.
It was a dream night for academy graduate Matty Cash (his words, not ours), who pulled on the captain’s armband for the first time.
Joe Worrall, who started the game as captain before making way for debutant Chema Rodriguez, couldn’t hide his delight either while goalkeeper and new-found fans’ favourite Brice Samba probably never expected his first derby appearance to be so straightforward.
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