Nottingham Forest vs West Bromwich Albion. Sky Bet Championship.
The City GroundAttendance28,926.
Report and free match highlights from the Sky Bet Championship clash between Nottingham Forest and West Brom at the City Ground as a Brennan Johnson penalty - after Darnell Furlong's red card - Ryan Yates, Jack Colback's stunner and Sam Surridge sealed a comfortable win.
Tuesday 19 April 2022 06:10, UK
Nottingham Forest tightened their grip on a Championship play-off place with a 4-0 win over 10-man West Brom on Easter Monday.
Darnell Furlong's early dismissal led to a real setback for the Baggies, and Brennan Johnson's resulting penalty got the ball rolling, before Ryan Yates doubled their lead and then Jack Colback scored a screamer in first-half stoppage-time. Sam Surridge also netted a fourth with the final kick of the game.
It gives Forest a five-point gap over Millwall in seventh - with two games in hand - and keeps alive their slim chances of catching Bournemouth in second. There is a seven-point gap between the pair with five games to play, but they still have to face each other in their penultimate game of the season.
For West Brom, it was a damaging defeat that likely ended their slim play-off hopes. There are six points and six places now between themselves and the top six, with just three games left.
Any fears that Forest may have lost a little momentum after their defeat at Luton on Good Friday - ending a run of five straight wins - were quickly dispelled as they took the lead on 19 minutes.
Furlong, who had been booked minutes earlier for a foul on Philip Zinckernagel, was then sent off after a James Garner effort hit him on the arm in the box, before Johnson stepped up to role the bottom into the bottom corner.
After 23 minutes it was 2-0 as Garner's corner found the head of Yates, who rose brilliantly to head in. There was some consternation amongst the West Brom players as they believed that Forest were wrongly awarded a throw-in in the build-up to the corner, but they still could have dealt far better with the resulting set-piece from a defensive perspective.
The moment of the half, however, came with Colback's astonishing third. Whether he meant it or not is up for debate, but no one could argue with the quality of the hit, as his sensational volleyed effort from out wide on the left bent with vicious outside dip and swing that left David Button completely helpless in the Forest goal.
The second half, in truth, was a procession for Forest, as they preserved some energy for the battles that lie ahead. There was a late flurry, though, as Zinckernagel's incisive pass found Surridge in the box, and he showed a clinical touch to find the roof of the net.
Nottingham Forest's Steve Cooper: "For a 4-0 win at home a lot of good things need to happen. The thing that pleased me the most was the focus going into the game. We felt hard done-by at Luton and we're not a team to feel sorry for ourselves, but the quicker this game came the better, because we needed to get it out of our system.
"West Brom started brighter than us in the first few minutes, but from there it was one-way traffic. We got three quick goals and it was just about seeing the game out from there. I'm so pleased with our attitude and approach to the game."
West Brom's Steve Bruce: "You take the defeat, but they were helped a little bit along the way. The one thing you need here is a strong referee. It might not have changed the outcome of the game because they might have been better than us, but is it a penalty? Is it another yellow?
"Then there is the debacle on the second one as it was clearly our thrown. We get caught because the linesman gives it our way and [the referee] gets influenced by the fourth official. It's one calamity after another. It's difficult enough coming here with 11 men, let alone when you're down to 10. [Furlong] is on the floor, what can he do? I think the referee has got it wrong."
Another remarkable display of composure in midfield from the Manchester United loanee. He was so mature in everything he did, despite being just 21, and was at the heart of everything good that Forest did on Monday night.
Both sides return to Sky Bet Championship action at 3pm on Saturday. Nottingham Forest head to Peterborough, while West Brom host Coventry.
