Derby County 4 N.Forest 2
Canadian international Paul Peschisolido was Forest's nemesis as he scored a brace to lead his new side to victory on Saturday.
It only took four minutes for The Rams to take the lead as captain Ian Taylor finished with a right-footed strike after Peschisolido had sent him through with a fine pass.
The former Sheffield United striker then doubled Derby's lead as Peschisolido tapped home into an open Forest goal after keeper Barry Roche failed to connect with Wes Morgan's back-pass that appeared to have deflected off a piece of litter on the pitch.
The Canadian's second goal was more straight-forward, as Marcus Tudgay (pictured) played him through before he struck left-footed past Roche for 3-0 eight minutes before the break.
Forest got one back just before the break as Gareth Taylor dove to head home a Mathieu Louis-Jean cross for 3-1.
Joe Kinnear's side made things interesting mid-way through the second half as Gareth Williams scrambled home a rebound after Taylor's header from an Eoin Jess cross struck the bar.
However, Derby sealed a vital win as Peschisolido turned provider for Tudgay to strike a deflected shot past Roche to make it 4-2 with eight minutes remaining.
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