Martin: “I’m Delighted It Sneaked Over The Line!”

Chris Martin’s dramatic late equaliser in Saturday afternoon’s 1-1 draw against Nottingham Forest was his 75th goal for Derby County - and his first in Rams colours against their local rivals.

Martin scrambled home from a few yards out to earn Phillip Cocu’s side, who also had striker Martyn Waghorn sent off, a share of the spoils at Pride Park Stadium.

Joe Lolley’s early goal looked to have been enough for the Reds, but Martin struck deep into added time.

Martin, one of the club’s longest-serving players, has been a prolific goalscorer of the years but has found goals against Derby’s neighbours hard to come by.

However, when the Rams needed him most, the 31-year-old stepped up to the plate.

His striker extended Derby’s unbeaten run to six matches after going into the game against Forest off the back of five successive league wins.

“I’m delighted that the ball, somehow, managed to sneak over the line,” Martin told RamsTV.

“It might have gone in off my shoulder, but who cares? We managed to get the point and we move into Wednesday, maintaining the momentum we have built up in recent games.

“I think on the balance of play, and they might disagree, but I think we deserved a point today.

“It was a frustrating one in the sense that they soaked up a lot of pressure and defended well but I feel like we got the rewards for the patience we showed.”

The Scotland international added: “I was fully aware of that I hadn’t scored against Forest for Derby.

“It’s something that I’ve wanted to put right for a long time and not managed to, but there is such a thing of trying too hard against someone and when you do that you aren’t yourself.

“I had a good feeling before the game. I told a couple of people that I had a good feeling and that is how it turned out.”

Martin felt the key word for Derby against the Reds was patience.

Forest restricted Cocu’s side to limited opportunities in front of goal, but the Rams kept their cool and stayed in the game despite Forest going close to a second.

With another point on the board, Martin believes it could prove to be a key one further down the line for Derby.

“We just tried to play our game today and the key word is the patience that we showed,” Martin said.

“I thought we still played good football and were the better side. Forest soak up a lot of pressure, try to control you without the ball and force mistakes, which they did at times.

“They defended their box well and it shows you the importance of set plays as well. It shows you to be aware and keep concentrated for the full game. We were fortunate to get the opportunity and we have taken it.

“Hopefully, we can use this point and turn it into the key one at the end of the season.”