Amid a disappointing opening defeat for Nottingham Forest at Coventry City, there was one player in particular who caught the eye.
But the fact Brennan Johnson stood out on his return to wearing the Garibaldi, after sparkling on loan at Lincoln City last term, will not have surprised his Reds teammates.
Defender Scott McKenna says the 20-year-old had already started to show what he is capable of before being given the nod in Sunday’s starting XI.
Johnson “lives up to the hype”, according to the centre-back - and after his brilliant run to tee up Lyle Taylor for the opening goal, few would disagree with him.
Doig latest
No club has yet to “talk the talk and walk the walk” in the race to sign Nottingham Forest target Josh Doig.
The Hibernian left-back has been the subject of increased speculation in recent days, with a number of clubs circling, including the Reds.
There had been talk of a big money move to Watford or Burnley, with some reports suggesting the latter would then be prepared to loan him to Forest.
Amid all the uncertainty, Doig had been left out of his team’s opening Scottish Premiership clash with Motherwell and their Europa Conference League third round first-leg qualifier against HNK Rijeka.
Pundits' verdict
Nottingham Forest have been sent a message by Glenn Murray and Neil Harris following their 2-1 defeat to Coventry City on Sunday (August 8).
The Reds had led for most of the game after Lyle Taylor turned home Brennan Johnson's low cross, but two goals in the final ten minutes saw the lead swing in Coventry's favour.
Ben Sheaf's strike bouncing off the crossbar proved to be the turning point as the Sky Blues fans recognised Forest were stuttering.
Viktor Gyokeres levelled the scoreline with ten minutes left and the hosts won it in stoppage time when Kyle McFadzean stabbed home in the final moments.
Reds debut
Nottingham Forest man Philip Zinckernagel has issued Reds supporters a message after his cameo appearance at Coventry City.
Zinckernagel joined the Reds from Watford for the rest of the season on Saturday, as Chris Hughton continues to shape his squad.
The 26-year-old Dane scored once and contributed five assists in 20 Championship appearances last season as the Hornets won promotion to the Premier League.
He came off the bench at the Coventry Building Society Arena as Forest kicked off their Championship campaign with a 2-1 loss.
