Derby County secured a priceless three points against Bolton Wanderers and veteran Craig Forsyth was excellent on his return.
Derby put in a battling and resilient performance to see off promotion rivals Bolton this afternoon as Kane Wilson’s winner 12 minutes from time kept the Rams second in the table.
Paul Warne’s men knew the importance of a victory and backed by a packed out Pride Park, the Derby faithful were able to roar them to an impressive three points.
That victory has created a four-point gap between them and third-place Bolton as we enter the final seven games.
Derby knew that securing a result today was more important than the performance and the defence were a huge reason why they came away with the win.
Of course, Eiran Cashin and Curtis Nelson have been magnificent all season long, however, Warne made the call to slot Craig Forsyth into centre-back instead of Sonny Bradley, and that decision proved to be the correct one.
Craig Forsyth was ‘excellent’ on his Derby County return
Forsyth has been sidelined with a calf muscle tear since the middle of January and after nearly two months out, the Scotsman returned to training last week.
The 35-year-old has been a big miss on the left side of the defence, but not many would have envisaged him slotting into the centre and producing a colossal display.
Despite his age and being out for a long time, Forsyth rose to the occasion in the heat of a promotion battle, throwing his body on the line, making vital blocks and clearing everything that was launched into the area.
Derby were unbeatable this afternoon and while that was largely down to the man mountain Joe Wildsmith, the long-serving defender certainly played his part.
He won an incredible eight of his nine aerial duels, made three tackles, four clearances, and won three of his ground duels.
It was a performance that merited praise and Leigh Curtis of the Derby Telegraph showered him with it by labelling his display as “excellent” while awarding him an 8.5/10 match rating.
He wrote: “His first start since the win over Fleetwood and he was excellent given he was playing at centre-back. A brilliant return to the fold for the Scot who was pretty much foot perfect in the second half. 8.5”.
A top professional and an even better defender, the impact Forsyth made on his return to the side was incredible and he’s just helped Derby massively in their pursuit of promotion.