Nottingham Forest’s Stuart Pearce exults as Ben Osborn sinks Derby
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Version 0 of 1. Stuart Pearce celebrated like it was Euro 96 all over again after Ben Osborn scored the stoppage-time winner that enshrined the former captain’s status as a Nottingham Forest legend. Victory in the east Midlands derby, denying Derby County the opportunity to claim top spot in the Championship, offered Pearce the kind of result to shove Danny Mills’s criticism down the pundit’s throat and, more important, to provide Forest with the emotional fillip to reboot their season. Mills had said his former Manchester City manager is “not a great coach, not a great tactician and not a great motivator” and that “after 10 games people work him out”. But Pearce, despite coming on to the pitch to celebrate manically after Osborn’s dramatic intervention, had retained his cool by the time he came to speak publicly about a game that could prove a key moment in his coaching career. “I’m entrenched in Nottingham and this is slightly more than a job for me,” he said. “I enjoy football at the all-or-nothing end. Yes, I enjoyed today but I probably enjoyed it more for the fans who have been so loyal to me. I respect loyalty. “I can’t legislate for someone else’s opinion. My real respect for people in professional football is when I look alongside me and see the Steve McClarens, the Tony Pulises, the Harry Redknapps who have been there in the technical area when the pressure’s on and delivered time and time and time again. They’re the people I look up to and emulate and listen to. “I know what job I’ve got to do at this football club. I know my limitations, as a man, I know my limitations as a coach. I’ve got a continual mentality to want to improve game by game, and I’m pretty unshakeable in terms of criticism. So I’m not interested in what Danny’s had to say. I do apologise to him for putting Micah Richards in his place at Man City.” Pearce has always given youth its head so he deemed Osborn’s memorable contribution to be a kind of poetic justice. With Forest on top at 1-1 with the game in added time, the Derby-born left-winger surged into the corner of the penalty area before swerving a shot inside Lee Grant’s near post just in the corner housing all the Forest fans. It was a wonderful moment. “He’s a product of our academy and I’ve always been one who says you’ve got to have strong links with your academy at your club,” Pearce said. “For a young academy player to come and score the winning goal in a derby match is fantastic for him. He epitomised the spirit in the second half. He was shoulder to shoulder with anyone in terms of ability and endeavour.” Forest, with two wins from their previous 20 games, played with fear in their boots for half an hour and were fortunate they trailed only to Henri Lansbury’s own goal, when the midfielder headed Johnny Russell’s corner past his own goalkeeper. This fixture has proved the tipping point in recent times: last season, Nigel Clough was dismissed as Derby manager after a 1-0 defeat at the City Ground, in September 2013, while Billy Davies collected his P45 after Forest’s 5-0 walloping here last March. But Fawaz al-Hasawi, the Forest owner, has given Pearce his total support and was rewarded as their team realised that Derby, after four successive wins, had taken their foot off the gas. With Will Hughes, the Derby playmaker, withdrawn at half-time with thigh and ankle injuries, Gary Gardner started making his talent tell and Forest’s breakthrough arrived 15 minutes from time. Pumped fist raised straight up into the air, Pearce accepted the chants from the Forest faithful that “Psycho is back” after Britt Assombalonga scored the equaliser when Jack Hobbs headed down Osborn’s free-kick. Even better was to come for the man whose England career was epitomised by his vein-bulging reaction to scoring a penalty in the shootout victory over Spain in 1996 to balance out the one he missed against West Germany in the 1990 World Cup semi-final. A Derby fan was arrested for trying to throw a punch at Kelvin Wilson as the Forest players went to celebrate with their supporters after the game and Hasawi’s car was vandalised but nothing could detract from Pearce’s day. |