Forest may have only survived on the final day of the season, but there were still highs to be cherished from an otherwise dismal campaign.
Britt Assombalonga of Nottingham Forest shoots at goal
Once the final whistle blew at The City Ground following Nottingham Forest’s 3-0 win over Ipswich Town – securing their Championship safety – the outpouring of relief was evident given how rough a campaign the Reds have endured.
Numerous disasters off the field seeped through onto it, but despite a season that many fans will wish to forget, there were some highlights for Forest – here are the top five highs the Reds went through this campaign.
#ReplayTheMatch
When Newcastle United came to Trentside, few Forest fans thought they’d get anything from the match – especially with the Magpies spending just shy of £55m in the summer, as reports Transfermarkt. However, the Reds came out 2-1 victors following red cards to Jonjo Shelvey and Paul Dummett, for kicking out off the ball and wiping out an attacker as last man respectively. Newcastle fans on social media didn’t take too kindly to what they perceived as a lack of justice, and amazingly threw their toys out of their pram to the extent they made genuinely serious claims to replay the entire match. Forest fans found the whole ordeal hilarious, especially given the amount of times contentious refereeing decisions have gone against them in the past, and the win ultimately went down as one of the better wins – on paper at least – of the season.
Nottingham Forest’s Stephen Henderson celebrates his sides second goal scored by Ben Brereton (not pictured)
Brereton, 92
The club’s youth academy is probably the biggest source of pride around The City Ground, with the system unearthing a number of gems for the first team to use. The most recent one to emerge was striker Ben Brereton, who at 17 was thrust straight into the deep end given Forest’s dire situation, but rose to the challenge superbly. In just his third league appearance for the club, Brereton came on against Aston Villa with the scores at 1-1, and sent the home crowd into raptures when he slammed home a 92nd minute volley to score his first goal in professional football, and to give the Reds a vital three points.
Pinillos becomes a hero
East Midlands derbies between Nottingham Forest and Derby County are often emotionally charged affairs, and none more so than this one – which was the first time Mark Warburton and Gary Rowett managed their new clubs in Forest and Derby respectively. Despite starting brilliantly, Forest threw away a 1-0 lead and found themselves 2-1 down going into injury time. Step forward Dani Pinillos, who got on the end of an excellent Ben Osborn corner kick to power a header home in the 94th minute of the match, sparking bedlam from Forest players and fans alike. Ultimately that goal proved to be more than the one point, given Forest stayed up on goal difference alone.
Nottingham Forest’s Ben Osborn scores their first goal from a free kick
Ben Le Tissier
With a hugely emotionally charged backdrop heading into this fixture with Bristol City, given the massively attended vocal protests against owner Fawaz Al Hasawi immediately prior to the match, it perhaps imperative that Forest secured a result to provide some relief to their disgruntled supporters. That was ensured when Osborn relived Matt Le Tissier’s classic free kick goal against Newcastle, where the ball was passed back to Le Tissier, who promptly flicked the ball up and volleyed it into the net. Against Bristol City. Matty Cash laid it back, and Osborn did just that – with the 22-year-old even receiving praise from Le Tissier for the incredible strike, which gave Forest a 1-0 win.
Chris Cohen’s redemption
Mr Nottingham Forest himself has been through so much with the club, both on a team and a personal level, with Cohen coming through three serious knee injuries to carry on playing. On his 300th appearance against Ipswich Town with the score at 1-0 to Forest, Cohen all but secured the Reds’ survival when he let fly a piledriver of a strike from 25 yards out that, via a deflection, flew into the top corner. The look on Cohen’s face showed just how much it meant to him, having come through so much on a personal level and to still be able of producing moments like that, and while Forest wrapped up their survival with a third, it’s Cohen’s strike that will be fondly remembered for years to come.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
