Nottingham Forest vs Leeds United. Sky Bet Championship.
The City GroundAttendance29,530.
Report and highlights as Leeds lose their second game in a row
Tuesday 1 January 2019 21:21, UK
Nottingham Forest ended their five-game winless run with a 4-2 victory over 10-man Leeds in the Sky Bet Championship to relieve the pressure on boss Aitor Karanka.
Jack Colback pounced on an Adam Forshaw error (5) to give the hosts the lead in a first half which saw Leeds defender Kalvin Phillips shown a straight red card (41).
Substitute Jack Clarke, 18, equalised for Leeds (53) after being introduced at the start of the second half and Ezgjan Alioski then put the visitors ahead from point-blank range (64).
Colback slotted in a dramatic equaliser five minutes later and further goals from Daryl Murphy (72) and substitute Ben Osborn (76) secured an emphatic win for Karanka's side.
The result lifts Forest into seventh place in the table on 39 points, while Leeds' second successive defeat means their lead at the top has been reduced to two points.
Nottingham Forest pressed Leeds early on and the strategy paid off as Colback intercepted a weak back-pass from Forshaw before rounding Bailey Peacock-Farrell in the visitors' goal to score his first league goal of the season.
There were appeals for a red card from the Leeds players in the 13th minute when Jack Robinson barged Jack Harrison over when he looked to be clear on goal, but referee Darren England gave a yellow instead.
Forest were causing Leeds problems at the back and Phillips was given his marching orders in the 41st minute for a strong lunging challenge on Adlene Guedioura.
Clarke was brought on at half-time by Marcelo Bielsa and it took him just seven minutes to make an impact. A dummy from Kemar Roofe sucked in the Forest defence before the 18-year-old tapped home. Despite being a man down, Leeds' resurgence did not end there as Alioski met Pontus Jansson's headed cross to give them the lead in the 64th minute.
Forest refused to lie down, though, and they launched their fightback through Colback, who slotted in from close range five minutes later after meeting Robinson's header. Murphy gave Forest the lead once again just three minutes later as he nodded his effort past Peacock-Farrell.
With Leeds leaving more gaps at the back as they went in search of an equaliser, substitute Osborn secured Forest all three points with a fine curling strike into the top corner after cutting in from the left.
Colback scored his first two goals of the Sky Bet Championship season and both were pivotal. His early opener gave Forest a significant confidence boost and his second pulled the hosts back into the game when they went 2-1 down.
His presence in midfield was also vital as he broke up Leeds' attacks on numerous occasions.
Nottingham Forest take on Chelsea in the FA Cup third round on Saturday, while Leeds travel to Queens Park Rangers for their cup tie on Sunday.
