Dougie Freedman: Nottingham Forest were "exceptional"

Dougie Freedman has described his Nottingham Forest side as "exceptional" following their 1-0 win over Derby County at the City Ground.

Nelson Oliveira scored in the opening five minutes to give the side their first win in nine fixtures in the Championship, leaving them 15th in the table.

The manager told the club's website: "We had a decent plan, we stuck together, we showed the same commitment as we've shown in the last four or five games. This time we've taken an opportunity when it came along.

"I thought our counter-attacking was exceptional tonight, and then the crowd gave us that lift we needed with 10 minutes to go. The pleasing thing for me as a coach is that we played as a team. We defended as a team, sprung into attack as a team.

"We put our bodies on the line when we had to, and the crowd played a huge part because in the last ten minutes the players were on their knees. We all pulled together for a fantastic win."

The win is Forest's first at home since August.