Nottingham Forest Under-23s came out 3-1 victors over Radford FC in an entertaining midweek friendly at the CDW Arena.
Forest Under-23s sit top of the Professional Development League and have only lost once so far this season, thrashing Bolton Wanderers 6-0 last time out.
As expected, Forest started off on top, earning multiple corners throughout the first-half.
However, Radford battled the storm and made chances of their own through Conor Moore.
The forward went closest on 36 minutes when he cut inside of his marker before curling the ball onto the post from the edge of the box.
Despite being viewed as the underdogs, Radford put up a good fight and deservedly went in at the break all square.
The early stages of the second-half saw Forest dominate with them eventually breaking the deadlock on 53 minutes thanks to Louis Walsh.
The winger latched onto the end of a defence-splitting pass before firing underneath Radford keeper Warren Squires.
Radford’s efforts to draw level with the young Reds saw them fall further behind on 71 minutes when Alex Gibson-Hammond lashed a rebound into the roof of the net.
Moments after the restart and Forest earned a penalty to see off the tie, Elliott Andrew dispatched the ball into the top left corner with ease.
To the Pheasants credit, they fought till the end and didn’t let themselves get overrun by this talented young Forest side.
Will Daly created one of Radford’s best chances when he teed up Ryan Smith but the forward fired well over the bar.
With five minutes left to play, Radford got their deserved consolation goal as Errol Campbell headed home following a goal mouth scramble around the six-yard box.
The friendly will have provided good motivation for Radford to kick on with their season and rediscover their winning formula.
Nottingham Forest Under-23s are next in action on Monday night when they visit Stoke City whilst Radford welcome Clifton All Whites for the second round of the League Cup on Tuesday evening.
