Age old grit and determination were key to Blackburn Rovers securing an East Midlands double on Saturday afternoon at the City Ground.
That’s according to striker Danny Graham, who scored what proved to be the winning goal to beat Nottingham Forest, a result which came just a few days after Rovers eased past the Reds’ East Midlands rivals Derby County at Ewood Park.
Tony Mowbray’s Rovers were 2-1 winners at Forest, to condemn Martin O’Neill’s men to a third successive Championship defeat inside a week – and in truth, were good value for the three points, having led 2-0 in front of more than 28,000 City Ground spectators.
“It was a lot different to how we performed on Tuesday night,” said Graham, who notched his 15th of the season and 150th career goal after some sloppy defending by the hosts four minutes into the second period.
"We had to show a lot of grit and determination and defended really well when we had to.
“I just want to keep contributing to the team, whether that's by scoring goals or getting assists. It's nice to score goals, but I've not had any targets. We have four games left so hopefully I can add to the tally.”
Lack of consistency is crippling Nottingham Forest, admits boss Martin O'Neill
After three straight defeats which ended any outside chance of gatecrashing the top six, Rovers made it back-to-back wins over Derby and Forest, a return to form which pleased the ex-Carlisle frontman.
“The story of our season has seen us get into a comfortable position before letting opponents back into games. We had to dig in and it's now two wins on the bounce, which is very pleasing,” said the 33-year-old.
“The centre halves were massive for us. I'm pleased for them and they've probably won us the three points for the effort they've put in.
“We've beaten quite a few of the big clubs this season, the likes of Stoke, Leeds, Derby, Forest, so we shouldn't fear anyone.
Martin O'Neill says Nottingham Forest need characters that can deal with weight of expectation
“We just need to find that consistency and that balance and I feel we've shown that over the last couple of weeks.
“We need to keep the run going, keep winning games. If we do that then we can take that confidence into next season.”
