Man of the match Stephen Pearson acknowledged a good night at Pride Park on a number of levels.

The Rams' first home pre-season outing ended in a 2-0 victory against Nottingham Forest to claim the inaugural Brian Clough Trophy.

And it was a good 90-minute workout for most of the squad on a night fitting of the great man's legacy.

"That's our first silverware, which is nice to win, and one of the most important things was getting our match-fitness up and building towards the weekend and next week," Pearson told www.dcfc.co.uk.

"Brian was a massive figure for both clubs and it was great to compete in a fitting game to honour him today.

"The games are coming thick and fast now, which is good, and the lads are getting 90 minutes under their belt now."

Pearson started the game in the middle of midfield - up against his former Celtic colleague Neil Lennon.

The pair enjoyed an excellent battle in the centre of the park and Pearson admitted it was enjoyable to face up to the Irishman.

But he didn't give Lennon too much banter in the lead-up to the game as he knew his experienced adversary would have the edge.

"It was good to play against him again after I'd played with him at Celtic," the Scotsman said.

"Neil did well again tonight and good luck to him.

"I didn't give him too much though as he's got an experienced head on his shoulders so I think he's got the edge on me on that one!"