Nottingham Forest confirmed Sky Bet Championship survival following stalemate with Stoke

Nottingham Forest and Stoke City share the points following an uninspiring encounter at the City Ground. A first Potters’ goal for Schalke loanee Rabbi Matondo was cancelled out by Lewis Grabban early in the second half.

The result means Forest have cemented their Sky Bet Championship status after fierce rivals Derby County tasted defeat at home to Birmingham City.

Both teams have moved up a place but are still enduring lengthy winless runs, with Chris Hughton’s not having won in four and the visitors in five.

The hosts made five changes following their poor performance at St Andrews in midweek, with Cafu, Yuri Ribeiro and Lewis Grabban being preferred to Tyler Blackett, Alex Mighten and Lyle Taylor respectively.

The Potters boss Michael O’Neill meanwhile made five alternations after being visibly displeased on Wednesday night as his side suffered a 3-2 defeat at home to Coventry. Adam Davies reclaimed his spot in goal, Harry Souttar made a timely return from suspension and Rabbi Matondo, Steven Fletcher and John Obi-Mikel also returned to the side.

After a quiet opening period, Lewis Grabban was presented with a golden opportunity to open the scoring, but he ultimately failed to capitalise on Harry Souttar’s mistake. The Australia international failed to clear but Grabban dragged his left-footed effort wide.

However, it was Stoke who eventually opened the scoring just before the half hour mark. Joe Worrall couldn’t deal with Tymon’s delivery and Matondo converted despite a poor connection to score his first City goal.

The Tricky Trees then came close to levelling the contest through James Garner. The Manchester United loanee sailed his free kick narrowly wide. Stoke shotstopper Davies was rooted to the spot as the ball sailed past his right-hand post.

They then appealed for a relatively tenuous penalty after Grabban’s shirt was pulled by Josh Tymon. Referee Andy Davies promptly refused to award the spot kick to the former Bournemouth striker’s dismay.

After the interval, the East Midlands outfit continued to create opportunities. They soon reaped the rewards and scored an equaliser. Striker Grabban exposed Tommy Smith and Danny Batth’s defensive fragilities and diverted his sixth goal of the campaign into the back of the net.

Both teams responded well to the goal, creating an array of opportunities. The most notable of which came from the ever-present Grabban. The forward was played through by substitute Knockaert but Davies smothered quickly.

Once the onslaught of second half shots subsided, both sides adopted a more conservative approach and struggled in the final third. Neither side managed to create anything of note and the contest finished even.

The result moved the visitors back into the top half of the Championship; however, Luton have amassed the same amount of points in two fewer matches.

Furthermore, Nottingham Forest have risen one place into 17^th. With Derby County having lost, their local rivals’ place in next season’s rendition of the second tier has been confirmed.

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