Nottingham Forest vs Millwall. Sky Bet Championship.
The City Ground.
Report and highlights from the Sky Bet Championship clash between Nottingham Forest and Millwall at the City Ground as Sammy Ameobi scored twice to fire Chris Hughton's side to victory, while Ryan Yates added a late third
Saturday 16 January 2021 18:34, UK
Sammy Ameobi scored twice to help Nottingham Forest make it seven unbeaten with a 3-1 win over struggling Millwall.
The winger netted in the 34th and 70th minutes and Ryan Yates left Chris Hughton's side looking comfortable when he added a third seven minutes from the end.
Millwall sub Ben Thompson made it 3-1 when he fired home a loose ball in the 89th minute, after 'keeper Brice Samba had punched clear to the edge of the box.
However, it was not enough to prevent Millwall extending their poor form, with Gary Rowett's side having won only once in 15 Championship games.
Cyrus Christie was the first to hit a shot, but the Forest man was wayward with his effort from the edge of the box.
A defensive slip allowed Lewis Grabban to latch on to a fine pass from Cafu eight yards out, but Millwall 'keeper Bartosz Bialkowski was quick to close the angle and make a smart save to deny the striker.
Yates sent a header bouncing wide as Forest continued to set the early tempo. Another corner saw Joe Worrall lash a shot wildly high and wide as the home side maintained their domination, without turning that into a goal.
Forest took the lead in the 34th minute when, after being fed by Cafu, Ameobi side-stepped on the edge of the box, creating the room to drive a low shot into the bottom corner of the net.
Shaun Hutchinson had a header cleared off the line by striker Grabban as Millwall went in search of an immediate response.
Forest had dominated possession for the first 20 minutes, but, after going behind, it was Millwall who finished the half far stronger.
Cafu almost made it 2-0 with a hammered free-kick that Bialkowski kept out with a strong save. A minute later Yates was a whisker away with a shot that bounced just the wrong side of the post.
Alex Mighten showed some lovely trickery to leave two Millwall players in his wake on the edge of the box, only to see his shot charged down.
Mighten was involved again as he lured the attention of Millwall, before feeding Grabban in the box - where he fired into the side-netting.
It was Mighten who then gave the ball to Ameobi just outside the box, but it was a solo effort when Ameobi then cut inside, before lashing an unstoppable shot across goal and inside the far post to make it 2-0.
Milwall had used all five subs in an effort to get back into the game but it was Forest who got a third, as Yates forced home a driven Cafu corner at the near post.
Millwall did pull one back when Samba - who seemed to have been clearly fouled - punched to the edge of the box, from where sub Thompson drove home.
Nottingham Forest's Chris Hughton: "[Ameobi's] second was a beauty and he does have that in his locker. This is our request to the offensive players we have got - can you make the difference?
"We know we are going to have lots of battling games, where we might not have the possession we might like and when that happens, it is down to the quality of your players. Sammy is one of the players who has that. I am really pleased for him, but his all round performance was good. The defensive work he did was also really good."
Millwall's Gary Rowett: "Of course I have concern about one win in that period of time. There have been a lot of draws where we should have won the games - but we haven't. So I cannot really stand here and say that we should have done this or that, because we haven't done it.
"We have to start getting serious about it. We have to earn the right to win games. We have to fight a little bit harder for the cause, which is what Millwall is all about. At the moment we are not showing the right level of consistency. We go to Bournemouth and play really, really well against a very good side, to get a draw. Then at Forest, we do not put in the same level of energy and commitment, in my opinion."
