Goals either side of half-time from Igor Jesus and Taiwo Awoniyi powered Nottingham Forest to a crucial 2-0 victory over Brentford, restoring their five-point cushion above both West Ham and the Premier League relegation zone.
Sean Dyche’s side delivered a disciplined, backs-to-the-wall performance at the Gtech Community Stadium, making Dyche only the second visiting manager this season, after Pep Guardiola, to claim maximum points at the ground.
Forest set the tone early through Jesus, before Awoniyi sealed the result with a devastating counter-attack late on.
The opening goal came after just 12 minutes, as Jesus produced a moment of quality in the battle between two Brazilian forwards.
The Forest striker expertly controlled the ball on his chest before firing past the goalkeeper, capping a dominant first half-hour in which the visitors could have doubled their lead.
Brentford gradually grew into the contest after Forest’s early surge faded, creating several openings to draw level.
Dango Ouattara, introduced early after Mikkel Damsgaard’s injury, came closest but was denied by a sharp save from Mats Selz when well placed.
Defensive reshuffles continued for the hosts, with Sepp van den Berg entering following Kristoffer Ajer’s withdrawal. The defender nearly equalised just before the break, glancing a long throw narrowly wide of the near post.
After half-time, Forest retreated deeper as Brentford piled on pressure, but the hosts struggled to turn possession into clear-cut chances.
As frustration crept in, belief drained from the home side and their impressive home record began to wobble.
Forest made them pay ruthlessly. With just 10 minutes remaining, substitute Awoniyi burst clear on the counter, outpaced Van den Berg and calmly converted what proved to be Forest’s only touch in the Brentford box after the interval.
The result was a significant blow to Brentford’s European ambitions. The Bees remain outside the top seven and could slip to ninth place should Everton overcome Leeds in Monday night’s fixture.
