A few weeks on from poaching Taiwo Awoniyi from Union Berlin for a club-record fee, Nottingham Forest were quelled by the German side as their three-game unbeaten run in pre-season came to an abrupt end.
Jordan Pefok’s 36th-minute effort was all it took for the Bundesliga outfit to march to victory on Saturday afternoon, which condemned Forest to a second defeat from two pre-season friendlies outside of England following a previous loss to Coventry City in Spain.
The Tricky Trees will enjoy two more friendlies in home comforts before their highly-anticipated return to the big time begins, and no fewer than 10 senior arrivals have come through the doors at the City Ground, but perhaps none more revered than Jesse Lingard.
The ex-Manchester United man opted to head for Forest rather than challenge for Europe once again with West Ham United, and Cooper’s side
may not even be done there in the current transfer window, so relegation after such a significant summer outlay is not an option for the City Ground faithful.
Nottingham derbies are collector’s items these days given the stark contrast in Forest and Notts County’s positions in the English football pyramid, but the National League side will at least come into Tuesday’s game with an unbeaten pre-season record to defend.
Beating Premier League outfit Leicester City 2-1 has been a particular highlight for Luke Williams’s side, who had to settle for a 1-1 draw against Boston United at the weekend as Kyle Cameron and Scott Pollock netted for their respective sides on the day.
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Notts County have come close but no cigar to returning to the Football League after three seasons in the fifth tier, but a stellar set of pre-season
results stands the Magpies in good stead ahead of the 2022-23 campaign, and they will finalise their summer preparations against York City on July 30.
The most recent derby between Nottingham Forest and Notts County came all the way back in the 2011-12 EFL Cup, where the Tricky Trees relied on Wes Morgan for a 120th-minute equaliser in a pulsating 3-3 draw before progressing to round two on penalties.
