Debutant Craig Forsyth thought Derby County were heading for defeat at Cardiff City

FOR a brief moment, new signing Craig Forsyth thought his Derby County debut was set to end in defeat.

The Rams held Championship leaders Cardiff City to a 1-1 draw in the Welsh capital on Tuesday night.

Conor Sammon put the visitors ahead with a quarter of an hour to go but substitute Craig Noone's 82nd-minute header denied Derby all three points.

Forsyth went straight into Nigel Clough's starting line-up following his loan move from Watford before being replaced by Michael Jacobs in the 72nd minute.

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This meant that the left-sided midfielder missed Sammon's opener as he was getting changed.

"I went in to get a shower and I didn't even realise we'd scored," said Forsyth.

"Then I saw their goal on the TV and when I came back out, I thought it was 1-0!

"So it was better than I thought when they told me it was 1-1.

"It's a very good point, considering Cardiff are top of the league and have got a great home record.

"Not too many teams have got anything there, so it's a massive positive.

"I think it's well-documented that there are a few injuries at the moment, so people may have looked at that and thought it would be an easy home win.

"But I think the boys showed what they are all about. They worked hard and we tried to play a bit when we had the ball as well.

"I thought it was definitely a deserved point."

Forsyth was pleased with his first appearance in a Derby shirt, considering his lack of first-team action of late.

"It was my first competitive game for about a month, so my legs were feeling it a bit in the second half," he said.

"I think the manager saw that and took me off.

"I could have lasted the 90 minutes but my performance level may have dipped a bit and that wouldn't have been good for the team."

Forsyth only met his new team-mates for the first time on the eve of the Cardiff game.

"It all kind of came out of the blue, really," he said.

"The manager (Gianfranco Zola) phoned me on Monday and said that Derby had been in contact and would I like to go? Obviously, I said yes.

"I drove to Cardiff on Monday night and met them at their hotel, so I got to know the boys a bit before the game.

"But considering I hadn't even had a training session with them, I was quite happy with the way I played.

"I didn't know if the manager might want to put me on the bench but I was delighted that I started and, hopefully, that continues."