Nottingham Forest moved into third place in the Championship with an impressive 1-0 win against Cardiff City at the Cardiff City Stadium.
A 49th minute Tiago Silva strike was enough to send Forest just three points behind Leeds United who play Middlesbrough tonight.
After being held to a frustrating draw by Queens Park Rangers, this game was always going to be a big one for the Reds.
(Photo by Athena Pictures/Getty Images)
Boss Sabri Lamouchi was clearly boosted by the fact that Sammy Ameobi and Lewis Grabban were fit enough to start. They both played their part in a another solid performance away from home.
Silva’s touch of class early in the second-half proved to be pivotal. Both sides were poor in the final third in the first-half, and it took a well-worked goal to break the deadlock.
Crucial
The 26-year-old scored his first goal for Forest against Birmingham City a few weeks ago.
He’s now scored his second goal for the club and will be looking to add to his tally before the end of the season.
(Photo by Athena Pictures/Getty Images)
He wasn’t able to end his dry spell in front of goal by his standards, but Grabban was lively all evening.
He got the assist for Silva’s crucial goal, and was unlucky not to get on the scoresheet himself. He showed signs that he isn’t too far away from getting back on the scoresheet.
Next up is Middlesbrough, who the Reds managed to do the double over last season. It’ll be another test of Lamouchi’s side’s promotion credentials at the Riverside.
(Photo by Athena Pictures/Getty Images)
Lamouchi will now hope that Samba Sow has enough time to get back fit in time for that match.
There’s certainly still plenty of room for improvement for the Reds, especially in the final third.
They had opportunities to kill the game off in the second-half but weren’t able to take them.
They’ll be looking to be more ruthless against Middlesbrough on Monday.