Derby County have defeated East Midlands rivals Nottingham Forest 2-0 at Pride Park to pick up their first three-point haul in the Championship since early September.

The Rams netted inside the opening 24 seconds of the match and again early in the second half to earn the bragging rights, lifting themselves above their near neighbours in the process.

Defeat for Forest sees the pressure grow on boss Mark Warburton, meanwhile, as they have lost seven of their last nine games in all competitions.

Matej Vydra gave County lift-off with his low shot from the edge of the box after being picked out by Joe Ledley, which flew into the bottom corner - his ninth career goal against Forest.

Straight from the restart, Daryl Murphy tested Scott Carson from six yards out and then headed inches wide from the next attacking move in a frenetic start to the derby.

Forest responded well but Derby soon took control of the match once more, with Vydra seeing a goal-bound shot well blocked by Eric Lichaj in front of the net.

The visitors should have levelled up before the break, though, as Barrie McKay's curler took a deflection on its way to striking the post, before then being denied by Carson from a one-on-one position.

Despite dominating much of the ball, Forest found themselves two down 50 minutes into the match when David Nugent was released by Vydra and rolled the ball past Jordan Smith.

Kieran Dowell and McKay again came close for the Reds, the latter seeing his attempt helped over the bar, while at the other end Tom Lawrence called Smith into action.

Wales international Lawrence was proving a real nuisance, clipping the bar with one delivery and testing Smith with another well-taken strike soon after, but in the end it mattered little as Derby ended their four-match winless run.