Nottingham Forest produced their best performance under Martin O’Neill to bring a four-match losing run to an end.
Middlesbrough were thumped 3-0 at the City Ground as Joe Lolley hit a double and Alexander Milosevic bagged an excellent strike.
But it was club record signing Joao Carvalho who earned a standing ovation from the home crowd after putting in an outstanding display which was at the heart of his team’s victory.
Reds reporter Paul Taylor gives his verdict on the Championship clash in our latest Forest video.
Boss O’Neill made five changes to the starting line-up which had been beaten at Sheffield United last time out, with Carvalho one of those brought into the fold after he had missed out at Bramall Lane through concussion.
The hosts were on top almost from the start, while also limiting their play-offs-chasing opponents to very few chances throughout.
And just before the break they got the breakthrough their play deserved when referee Peter Bankes pointed to the spot after Karim Ansarifard was fouled by Ryan Shotton.
Lolley stepped up and emphatically blasted the resulting penalty home to give his team the lead five minutes before half-time.
Forest upped the ante after the interval and could have triumphed by an even greater margin were it not for some excellent saves from Darren Randolph, while Carvalho was thwarted by the woodwork.
As it was, a brilliant volley from Milosevic doubled their advantage just past the hour mark, and Lolley bagged his second of the afternoon to round off the scoring five minutes from time.
With two games left to play, the Reds will look to secure their first away win since November when they head to QPR next weekend.
