Nottingham Forest vs Middlesbrough. Sky Bet Championship.
The City Ground.
Report and highlights from the Sky Bet Championship clash between Nottingham Forest and Middlesbrough at the City Ground as goals from Britt Assombalonga and George Saville proved enough for Boro on Wednesday night.
Wednesday 20 January 2021 22:35, UK
Nottingham Forest's seven-match unbeaten run was brought to a grinding halt as their former striker Britt Assombalonga helped Middlesbrough to a 2-1 win at the City Ground.
Middlesbrough spent £15m to sign the striker from Forest in the summer of 2017 and the forward came up with the goods as he put the visitors ahead with a calm finish early on.
George Saville added the second five minutes into the second half to put Neil Warnock's side in control.
Loic Mbe Soh headed home in the 93rd minute to make it 2-1 as he attacked a cross from fellow sub Joe Lolley. But there was still time for more drama as Yuri Ribeiro was send off following a tussle with Saville.
Chris Hughton's side had looked like they had turned a corner, having embarked on an unbeaten run that lifted them away from the bottom three, but it was Middlesbrough who took three points to bolster their play-off push.
Paddy McNair had a shot charged down in the penalty area following a short-corner routine, while Marcus Tavernier forced an uncertain save from Brice Samba with a driven effort, as Middlesbrough made a bright start.
Forest responded as Sammy Ameobi's trickery on the edge of the box gave him the room to shoot - only for him to blaze high and wide.
It was deserved when the visitors took the lead in the 14th minute, as Jonny Howson delivered the perfect pass for Assombalonga to apply a simple, composed finish from eight yards, against his former club.
Some determined work from Ameobi and some quick feet from Lewis Grabban ended with the striker firing a tantalising low cross right across goal, but it went unconverted.
Boro could have gone 2-0 ahead when Assombalonga rattled the post with a fierce effort, which was only kept out when it bounced off the woodwork and onto keeper Samba's head, deflecting it away off the line.
By half time Forest were a little fortunate only to be a goal behind, with Middlesbrough having been a constant threat from set-pieces.
Forest made a change at the interval, with striker Lyle Taylor replacing midfielder Samba Sow who had been walking a disciplinary tightrope having been booked.
But it was Boro who were to extend their advantage within five minutes of the restart as Assombalonga led a quick break, which saw Marcus Tavernier slide a perfect pass to Saville, who kept his head to slot the ball beyond Samba when one-on-one with the keeper.
Marc Bola almost made it better for Middlesbrough when he rattled the bar with a powerful shot.
Mbe Soh's goal gave Forest hope in injury time but that was ended when Ribeiro was red carded.
Nottingham Forest's Chris Hughton: "It was a disappointing night, particularly on the back of a seven-game unbeaten run and a really good performance (against Millwall). But we never really got going, we needed to impose ourselves more on them and we were not able to do that. If you cannot do that, you need to be resolute and solid at the back.
"We conceded two really poor goals. With the form we have been in and certainly the defensive form we have been in, it was not like us. That is probably the most disappointing aspect. I cannot say that we were the better side; I cannot say we deserved to get anything from the game. They play in a certain way. But they have quality in their side."
Middlesbrough's Neil Warnock: "When Britt's like that, he's as good as anything. I just wish he'd do that every week. We were at it from the first minute, I knew we'd be all right. We never took our foot off the pedal, that's lovely to see.
"We were sloppy on Saturday, but the only disappointment was not scoring more goals. Apart from their goal, I can't think of a save our keeper had to make. I'd give Jonny Howson 11 out of 10 for his performance."
