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Here is the wonderful Ben Fisher’s report from the City Ground.
Thomas Frank: “I think it was very good to come here and win against a very good team. I think defensively, we were very strong, gave very little away. We gave the ball way too much, especially in the second half. It was a 7/10 performance.”
Yoane Wissa: “Game after game we are showing what we can do. It was a top performance today against a very good team.
“We work a lot [on direct passes], it was something we worked on.
“I love scoring goal, it helps the team. The feeling is great.
Nathan Collins: “We want an exceptional season, we are not happy floating around midtable.
“It is lucky with our quality upfront, they can take it in front or go in behind.
“It is something unbelievable to build on. The fans were class throughout the whole game.”
Four games to go for everyone in the Premier League now. Forest are sixth, level on points with Chelsea, who they face on the final day of the season.
It should be said that Brentford were excellent from start to finish. Thomas Frank is a very smart coach and his side were in control for the vast majority of the game here.
Do Forest have nothing left to give? I was at the Everton game and they never looked like breaking down David Moyes side. The Forest players look pretty dejected.
Full-time: Nottingham Forest 0-2 Brentford
It was not a great performance from Forest but they will rue the two defence lapses that gifted Brentford victory and put a huge dent in their Champions League ambitions.
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90+2 mins: Plenty of shots of Forest fans with hands on heads.
90 mins: Ajer bundles over Williams on the edge of the box. The Brentford man is booked. Elanga takes aim with the free-kick but there are enough Brentford bodies in the way and they scramble clear.
Four minutes added on.
88 mins: Williams curls in a cross from the left but it goes over everyone and out for a goal-kick. The Forest fans are starting to head for the exits.
Brentford break quickly. The ball eventually reaches Mbeumo on the edge of the box but his shot flies inches over.
86 mins: Now or never for Forest … but their attack ends with a pointless offside.
Sosa is coming on for Yates.
84 mins: Kayode and Damsgaard are off for Brentford. Konak is from Batman in Turkey, which is great news for all involved.
82 mins: The noise has gone at the City Ground.
Brentford are plotting a double change. Ajer and Konak are being prepared.
80 mins: This would be four defeats in five for Forest. Not an ideal team to have a stutter. They have had plenty of the ball in the second half but without creating a chance of note.
78 mins: Norgaard recklessly takes down Yates on the byline. He is on a booking for England sees no reason to double that up. I am not sure why, as it is a yellow.
England books a member of the Forest backroom staff.
76 mins: Elanga takes aim from 25 yards, the shot bounces up in front of Flekken but he is not worried about that.
Gibbs-White and Aina are taken off. Jota Silva to right-back?
74 mins: Kayode finds space on the right, then cuts in onto his left foot and produces a truly dreadful shot that loops wide.
Jota and Sangare are being readied.
72 mins: This is turning out to be a deflating night for Forest. Time for Jota?
GOAL! Another long ball over the top. It is a punt down the pitch form Flekken, which Murillo fails to deal with in the first instance and then Milenkovic does nothing to stop the ball going through to Wissa, who does the rest.
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GOAL! Nottingham Forest 0-2 Brentford (Wissa, 70)
Wissa goes through one-on-one and dinks a shot over Sels. Another defensive howler.
70 mins: Aina controls a pass on the right but then loses possession, sending the ball behind for a goal-kick.
Things are getting tense in the City Ground. Is Champions League football slipping away from them?
68 mins: Elanga gets round the back of the Brentford defence, finding space to head a cross back across goal but Collins whacks it behind.
Schade is coming off, Jensen the man replacing him.
66 mins: Brentford have a corner on the right. Mbeumo lines it up … but Gibbs-White wins the first header. Brentford work is back into the box and Mbeumo shoots from 16 yards, only to see his shot blocked.
64 mins: Aina sends in a fine cross that finds Wood at the back post but he can only direct his header wide.
Not 100% sure what the Forest formation is now. I think Gibbs-White has dropped deeper alongside Yates.
62 mins: Forest win a corner on the left. They have the added height of Awoniyi now and a front two! Nuno knows Forest need to win here. England is delaying the taking of the corner by speaking to everyone jostling in the box. The cross goes in and out of the box without a chance being created.
Williams is booked for a deliberate handball to stop a Brentford counter.
60 mins: Hey hey! I am a genius. Awoniyi is coming on. Is Nuno reading? Although, it looks like he will replace Anderson. Gibbs-White to move to the right?
58 mins: Forest enjoy a little pressure but it ends with Yates firing wide from 25 yards.
There is a VAR check for a potential penalty for Brentford after Schade goes down in the box. Nothing in it. We carry on.
56 mins: Wood has not looked the same since his injury. Is it worth giving Awoniyi a runout?
54 mins: Mbeumo darts down the right wing, then cuts in and shoots but Sels saves in front of the post.
Down the other end … Elanga defeats Kayode and then takes aim for the bottom corner, forcing Flekken into a good save, tipping the ball behind.
52 mins: Anderson fires in a lot cross from the left but it beats everyone and goes out for a goal-kick.
50 mins: Elanga gets to the byline and pings a cross into the centre, which is blocked by the goalkeeper.
The raining is really coming down. The gardeners of Nottingham will be pleased.
48 mins: Dominguez has gone out to the right and Elanga moved over to the left. I wonder why Nuno did not put Jota on for Hudson-Odoi. Interesting …
46 mins: In other news … it is raining in Nottingham.
Second half
Here we go again!
Brentford make a change as Henry replaces Lewis-Potter, while Dominguez comes on for Hudson-Odoi for Forest.
Half-time listening.
Half time: Nottingham Forest 0-1 Brentford
It’s been a very good, tight game and Forest will be kicking themselves over the goal, which was very much avoidable.
45 mins: Two minutes added on.
GOAL! Collins pings a ball 60 yards up the pitch, Forest’s centre-backs are asleep; Schade is allowed to take the first touch, although his control is poor, giving Aina a chance to clear but he slips and the Brentford forward sends his shot into the corner.
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GOAL! Nottingham Forest 0-1 Brentford (Schade, 44)
A defensive shambles gifts Schade the opener.
43 mins: Brentford get a corner on the right after Sels punches a long throw-in behind. Collins wins the header but Forest manage to clear before any damage is done.
42 mins: Norgaard is belatedly booked for a late challenge on Gibbs-White. We are up to five yellows in match, Brentford winning 3-2.
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40 mins: Gibbs-White is looking a bit angry now. He wins the ball back and lays it off. Anderson receives the ball on the edge of the box and takes aim but Flekken gets down to easily save.
38 mins: Sky have some trendy graph which tells us that Brentford dominated early on and now Forest are in charge. I could also see that … with my eyes.
Yarmoliuk and Yates clash in the centre circle, leaving the Ukrainian very irked. The ref has a word with both and sensibly does not show any more cards.
36 mins: I am not sure what happened to the Dominguez substitution but he was certainly getting ready at one stage.
Hudson-Odoi is down after a Mbeumo foul. The Brentford man is booked but it’s not too bad. England likes a yellow.
34 mins: Elanga and Gibbs-White combine on the right, allowing the latter to thrash a cross across the six-yard, which Flekken just about deals with before a defender cleans up. There is plenty of energy about Forest now.
32 mins: Forest have a corner on the right. Elanga pings it into the box and it is flicked away to Hudson-Odoi on the other side. Forest work it back to Elanga who sends a cross out for a goal kick.
30 mins: Dominguez is being prepared by Nuno. I am not sure if anyone is injured or the Forest head coach wants to change tactics. Could he bring off Anderson who is on a booking?
28 mins: Elanga gets his head to a powerful cross, forcing him to send it upwards to Wood but he cannot control a header.
26 mins: Aina has been Forest’s best player. They have certainly missed his energy down the right in recent weeks. It feels like he has singlehandedly increased the tempo of the hosts and the are in this game.
24 mins: Aina goes past a few defenders and is then bodychecked by Lewis-Potter just outside the box. The fans want a second booking for the left-back but England is lenient this time but I am not sure how long Lewis-Potter can carry on out there. It’s his own fault for getting a very stupid booking.
22 mins: Anderson tries to instigate a break for Forest but pings for 40-yard pass straight out of play.
20 mins: Anderson commits a handball but the referee deems no further action is needed for the Forest man who has just been booked.
18 mins: Damsgaard sends in the resulting free-kick from deep on the right. It reaches Van den Berg unmarked and alone around eight yards from goal, he heads at goal but Sels does superbly to block.
Anderson soon goes into the book for a poor challenge. Forest are off it today …
16 mins: Elanga goes around Lewis-Potter and into the box, he pulls the ball back but goes down after an arm on the shoulder. Forest want a penalty but nothing is doing, according to Darren England.
Down the other end … Wissa beats Williams to the ball, leaving the only course of action for the Forest man being to take him down to stop the Brentford man getting away.
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14 mins: Gibbs-White and Hudson-Odoi produce the weirdest free-kick routine I have seen for a while. Hudson-Odoi runs over the ball before Gibbs-White lambasts him for this act, claiming the former Chelsea winger should have taken the free-kick. Words are exchanged and then Gibbs-White quickly takes it. It all looks very staged. Not that any of this matters because someone is ruled offside. Hope that clears it all up.
12 mins: Lewis-Potter smashes into Elanga with a deliberate shoulder on the winger. I suspect that’s perceived payback from the previous clash. A bit silly from the Brentford man.
Wissa has been a long-term target for Forest and if they do get Champions League football, I imagine they will bid for him again. They previously had an interest in Schade, too.
10 mins: The impetus is provided by Aina who dashes down the right. The Nigeria international sends in a low cross, which goes behind Wood and collected by Gibbs-White, who takes aim but his shot is blocked.
The Forest man then lunges into a tackle on Schade and is booked.
8 mins: A very lively start from Brentford. Forest have looked a little sluggish and will need to up things to get into the game.
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6 mins: Damsgaard looks to chip a ball over the top for Mbeumo but Murillo uses his strength to keep him from latching onto the pass.
Lewis-Potter is on the ground after challenging Elanga for a header. There is nothing in it but I can understand the Brentford man being in pain after a heavy landing.
4 mins: Damsgaard whips in a corner from the left, it goes over almost everyone, eventually reaching Norgaard, whose harder is blocked by Milenkovic and bundled away. A few early creaks at the back for Forest.
2 mins: Forest have had the possession in the early stages. Aina whips in a cross but it is easy for Flekken to claim.
Down the other end, Damsgaard finds Schade at the back post, from where he nods it back into a dangerous area but Murillo is there to clear.
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Kick off
Peep! Peep! Peep! Here we go!
The players are in the tunnel …
Frank speaks: “We need to focus on being very exceptional, you need to focus on one game at a time. Big game for Nottingham, big game for us. Hopefully a good one to watch.
“We have to perform, believe in ourselves and make sure it’s on our terms as much as possible. It’s a good team we’re facing out there, but we’re confident. The last 11 games have been good.”
Nuno speaks: “All the games are the biggest ones. These ones mean a lot. Nothing else matters, just these games.
“You have to compete against very good teams, they all fight for everything. We have one result in our mind.
“When you are disappointed, you are not happy. It’s not an advantage. But it’s how you react from that moment of sadness.”
I am very sure, having had a few trips to the City Ground this season, it will be lively on the banks of the River Trent tonight.
As with the rest of the UK at the moment, it is a lovely night in Nottingham. Hopefully it’s cooled down sufficiently for this early kick-off.
Obviously, this is the biggest match of the night but if you want a more European flavour …
Or Ben Fisher on the beers with Vitor.
Some pre-match reading on Forest. Admittedly, these were both written (by me) over the past fortnight but it’s all good insight, isn’t it?
Some interesting Forest news yesterday. Not that it means much in the grand scheme of things.
Forest look to be at full strength with Ola Aina back at right-back after injury.
Starting lineups
Nottingham Forest (4-2-3-1): Sels; Aina, Milenkovic, Murillo, Williams; Yates, Anderson; Elanga, Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi; Wood
Subs: Miguel, Morato, Sangare, Awoniyi, Toffolo, Dominguez, Jota, Sosa, Abbott
Brentford (4-3-3): Flekken; Kayode, Collins, Van den Berg, Lewis-Potter; Norgaard, Yarmoliuk, Damsgaard; Schade, Wissa, Mbeumo
Subs: Valdimarsson, Henry, Pinnock, Jensen, Mee, Ajer, Konak, Maghoma, Nunes
Preamble
After the distraction of an FA Cup semi-final and a trip to Wembley, Forest are back to the day job of battling for a Champions League place. It’s been an incredible season at the City Ground, regardless of whether they finish in the top five or not. Nuno Espirito Santo and his squad will be determined to not let a potentially feat slip from their grasp.
Forest currently sit sixth but have a game in hand on their rivals and a win tonight will take them up to third, for 24 hours at least. Three of the five remaining games are at home, including the difficult task of Chelsea in a couple of weeks. Nine points will be the aim from these fixtures as they look to fight off the competition for a lucrative European tour.
Brentford, on the other hand, are 11th and potentially on the beach with only a limited chance of qualifying for Europe. I am sure Thomas Frank will not let his team take it easy but it must be difficult to concentrate when there is almost nothing to play for.
Kick-off: 7.30pm BST
