Five talking points as Nottingham Forest defeat Brentford

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Nottingham Forest climbed into an automatic promotion place on Saturday with a 1-0 win over Brentford at the City Ground.

Ben Watson netted the only goal of the game, scoring for the second successive game in front of the City Ground faithful.

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The Reds put in a solid performance against the Bees and now sit in second going into the second international break of the campaign.

Following the latest performance we looked at five talking points from Forest’s latest match:

Midfielder now integral

Ben Watson’s transformation this season has been nothing short of remarkable working under the boss Sabri Lamouchi.

It was around this time last year that Aitor Karanka had started to cut Watson out of his squad altogether; preferring younger options to play instead.

His is now making a mockery of 12 months ago though and he once again Forest’s star man against Brentford.

Watson’s role has been tweaked slightly under the French manager and his clearly enjoying life at Forest once again.

Cash enjoying new role

Against the Bees, Matty Cash was also a standout performer. He is getting better with each game in an unfamiliar right-back position and appears to be enjoying himself.

Forest currently have Tendayi Darikwa and Carl Jenkinson both on the treatment table but in their absence Cash has stepped up with aplomb.

On Saturday he flew into tackles like a seasoned defender and ensured the left-hand side threat from Brentford was kept to a minimum.

Chema filling the Dawson void

For context, Brentford splashed out £5.5 million in the summer to land Leeds defender Pontus Jansson. He struggled to cope with the constant threat of Lewis Grabban on Saturday, who at times made him look like a lower league defender.

Forest landed Chema Rodriguez from Levante for just £1 million (Bein Sports) and that price tag already looks like a snip based on his first Championship start for the Reds.

He produced a quality display alongside Joe Worrall. His defending was calm, composed and resolute, whilst his ability to play out from the back also caught the eye.

Samba shines

This was a game that would always be decided by the finest of margins.

Brice Samba offered Forest the catalyst for a win with a superb save just before the half-time cup of tea.

A free-kick from Mathias Jensen had deflected against the Forest wall and despite being wrong-footed, Samba jumped across his goal line to punch the ball clear.

The 25-year-old looks a quality signing for the Reds and with every game, he looks more composed in between the posts.

Grabban work-rate

Although he cut a frustrated figure as he failed to receive great service into the box, that didn’t stop Forest’s talisman from putting a strong shift in.

His running gave the Brentford back four nightmares and hopefully, Forest fans are starting to appreciate his effort in each game.

Grabban will get goals if he gets the relevant service but workmanlike performances of this nature will also see him warm to his biggest of critics.