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Nottingham Post
Nottingham Post
Sport
Sarah Clapson

Nottingham Forest fans left stunned by surprise goal for frozen-out defender

Carl Jenkinson has quickly made an impact following his loan move from Nottingham Forest to Melbourne City.

Last week, the right-back signed for the Australian A-League side for the rest of the season, having been out of the picture at the City Ground.

He had not played a competitive game for 12 months, but marked his debut with a goal for Melbourne at the weekend.

Jenkinson came off the bench in the 68th minute and found the back of the net little more than quarter of an hour later, putting the seal on a 3-1 win over Central Coast Mariners.

The former Arsenal man had stepped in at centre-back, and he buried a low strike from a corner to score for the first time since October 2015.

His last goal came during a loan spell at West Ham United while he was still with the Gunners, getting on the scoresheet in a 3-1 Premier League victory at Crystal Palace.

Responding to a “congratulations” tweet from Melbourne, Jenkinson said “cheers guys” alongside a fist-bump emoji.

His efforts got Forest fans talking on social media, too.

One quipped, with a laughing emoji: “Carl Jenkinson scoring in his 1st game in Australia, get him back!”

Another said: “Found his level.”

One wrote: "Carl Jenkinson SCORED today for Melbourne City. What's going on???"

And one posted: “I knew we should (have) kept him.”

Jenkinson had not been part of the first-team picture at Forest for some time prior to his move, having been among a group of players told they could move on last summer.

His contract with the Reds is up at the end of this term, with his last run-out in the Garibaldi coming in the 5-1 FA Cup defeat at Swansea City last January.

After signing for Melbourne, he said: “I’m excited to be joining a Club that are the current champions of Australia.

“I’ve heard a lot of good things about both Melbourne as a beautiful city, the professionalism of the club and the quality of the league.”

What transfer business should Forest do before the window closes? Have your say in the comments below

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