Nottingham Forest went back to basics as they beat Hull City 2-0 to end a run of five games without a victory in the Championship.
Lewis Grabban added two more for his tally against the Tigers. The 31-year-old opened the scoring with a penalty kick before adding his 12th of the season late on.
Sabri Lamouchi oversaw a masterclass of an away performance and that is largely down to his strategy.
Forest earned a reputation as being hard to beat earlier in the campaign but just lately had developed a soft underbelly.
The Reds never looked like relinquishing their lead after scoring in the first ten minutes and claimed a massive three points.
Lamouchi opted to close the midfield up. Alfa Semedo came in for Sammy Ameobi allowing the Portuguese powerhouse to link up with Samba Sow.
Forest did encounter a small injury scare. Sow was withdrawn just before the break after picking up a knock in the penalty incident.
It was Grabban who caught the eye though and he really has been the man to call upon for Forest this season – particularly away from home!
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Of his 12 goals during 2019/20, 10 have come on the road and he highlighted at Hull exactly what he is all about.
Although Forest would welcome another striker coming into the club during January, Grabban is very much a pivotal player.
If the striker receives service into the box then he still knows where the back of the net is and his finish for the second goal was brilliant.
Strategy
Grabban’s display edged Forest closer to the play-off places and kept Hull at arm’s length behind them.
Lamouchi deserves immense credit though. The Frenchman changed his tactics somewhat and it stifled the threat of Jarrod Bowen and Kamil Grosicki considerably.
With back-to-back home games against Wigan and Blackburn coming up, Forest can now see light at the end of the tunnel.
Recent results haven’t been good but that’s the nature of the beast in the Championship.
Forest must now look forward and continue picking up the points to try and stay in touch with the top six.
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