npower Championship: Bryson makes difference in ill-tempered derby

Former Kilmarnock midfielder Craig Bryson gave Derby County a 1-0 win over ten-man Nottingham Forest yesterday after Dexter Blackstock was sent off in an ill-tempered East Midlands derby.

A player had been dismissed in each of the last three meetings between these sides and a fourth always looked likely once the bruising challenges flew in from the off.

The game’s turning point came only 32 seconds after the break when Blackstock was sent off for what was controversially deemed a deliberate elbow into Richard Keogh’s head. And Forest were behind nine minutes later when Bryson swept home to round off a flowing move down the right.