Huddersfield Town vs Nottingham Forest. Sky Bet Championship.
The John Smith's StadiumAttendance22,529.
Report and highlights from the Sky Bet Championship clash at the John Smith's Stadium
Saturday 21 December 2019 18:56, UK
Steve Mounie's first league goal since February helped Huddersfield upset promotion chasers Nottingham Forest 2-1 in a fiery encounter at the John Smith's Stadium.
Mounie's second-half header and skipper Christopher Schindler's first-half opener did the damage as the battling Terriers stretched their unbeaten run to three games.
Schindler's second goal of the season and first goal for nearly two months gave the hosts the perfect start.
French hitman Mounie, making only his third start of the season, made sure of the points with his clinical finish from Karlan Grant's corner.
Joe Worrall's first goal for Forest, a fine near-post header, gave the visitors hope in the 74th minute, but the hosts held on for three welcome points in their battle to avoid the drop.
The contest boiled over at half-time between Town boss Danny Cowley and Forest manager Sabri Lamouchi following a fiery first half.
The pair were embroiled in a heated exchange as they left the pitch for half-time, with players from both sides rushing down the tunnel as an ugly melee ensued.
But it was Cowley who had the last laugh as his battling outfit did their relegation fight no harm at all.
Lamouchi rung the changes for his side's clash with the Terriers.
The frustrated Frenchman was perplexed with his misfiring team's 4-0 thumping at the hands of Sheffield Wednesday last time out.
He made four changes to his starting selection with Joao Carvalho, Jack Robinson, Michael Dawson and Ryan Yates all dropped to the substitute's bench while Tobias Figueiredo, Samba Sow, Joe Lolley and Chema Rodriguez were recalled.
Cowley made just one change to his team with Josh Koroma replaced by Mounie.
It was Mounie could have easily given the hosts the lead after just four minutes but he shot over from Juninho Bacuna's dangerous in-swinging free-kick.
But Forest were bright and Sammy Ameobi went agonisingly close with a left-foot firecracker at the other end.
Midfielder Matty Cash dragged a right-foot shot wide of the target as the visitors pressed for an opener and Lewis Grabban had a powerful shot charged down inside the area.
But it was the home side who took the lead through their skipper shortly after the half-hour mark.
Chelsea loan midfielder Trevoh Chalobah had a shot charged down on the line, but Schindler was on hand to rifle left-footed into the top-right corner.
However, Ameobi went within a whisker of equalising moments later when he pulled a left-foot shot just wide of the right-hand upright.
Mounie gave Cowley's charges the perfect start to the second half when he headed Grant's pinpoint delivery beyond keeper Brice Samba into the far right corner.
Bacuna forced a smart save from Samba as the home team went in search of a third.
Former Town midfielder Joe Lolley saw his stinging left-foot drive deflected for a corner as Forest looked for an immediate response.
Leading scorer Grant went within a whisker of making it three but Samba denied him with a superb point-blank block and the forward lashed the rebound over.
Defender Worrall headed home late on with his first league goal since December 2017 and Town shot-stopper Kamil Grabara pulled off an excellent save to thwart Lolley with five minutes remaining.
He made an even better block to palm away Cash's diving header at the back post in the third of six minutes of injury time.
But it was little too late for Lamouchi's frustrated side, who sank to a second defeat in a row and who are now winless in their last five matches.
Huddersfield's Danny Cowley: "Forest were physical today and, in that moment, you either step back or step forward.We stepped forward. No one will come here and beat us up. We stood up for ourselves today, I'm proud of the players for that. They came here and wanted to kick us, but no one is going to bully us. You have to have substance. I was a bit disappointed with their staff, they showed a lack of respect.
"Here was me thinking it was Christmas and good will to all men, but I was wrong. I just wanted to sort it out. We got into a really good place at 2-0 and then had our best spell, when we should have scored a third and created quite a few chances. But we didn't, they scored and then we tried to see the game out. We gave up the ball and invited pressure. There's learning to take."
Nottingham Forest's Sabri Lamouchi: "I'm very disappointed with the result because we came here with the good intention to get some points. It's a bad moment for us, but we need to find a solution for sure. I'm upset, but we've just got to keep working.
"We started in a good way and created some chances and we deserved to score first, but we need to be more efficient in the box. It was a story of three corners and three goals."
