Forest stroll to success against Huddersfield

Promotion-chasing Nottingham forest easily dispatched relegation candidates Huddersfield Town at the City Ground on Sunday afternoon, with their 3-1 victory flattering the visitors who looked a clear second best throughout.

The comfortable win began with Sammy Ameobi, influential all afternoon, striking the base of the near post after just four minutes, from opposite winger Joe Lolley’s pull back.

He had another chance in the 20^th minute but could only pick out the Terriers’ goalkeeper Jonas Lössl.

It came moments after the referee had correctly waved away strong penalty appeals at the other end, when Alex Pritchard went down too easily from Ben Watson’s challenge.

Forest eventually opened the scoring two minutes before half time, when Lewis Grabban backed away at the far post to smash home his 18^th goal of the season on the volley.

Centre half Joe Worrall was the unlikely assister for Sabri Lamouchi’s side; he found himself on the left wing to cut back and put in an excellent, whipped cross.

Within a minute of the players returning after the interval, the hosts’ top scorer struck again to make it 2-0.

Grabban nodded the ball down to Ameobi on halfway, before running in behind the visitors’ defence to receive the return pass and producing a calm finish one on one with the goalkeeper.

Grabban doubles Forest’s lead (credit: Laurence Griffiths / Getty Images)

Huddersfield did hit the bar a few minutes later when a Pritchard corner ricocheted off a defender in a crowd of players, but it was Forest who continued to look the more likely scorers.

Substitute Ryan Yates planted a free header wide on the hour, before Grabban when close to poking home his third from close range and Lolley, against his former club, drove just wide.

Juninho Bacuna almost pulled one back for Danny Cowley’s men with a quarter of an hour to play, but his free kick was well parried by a flying Brice Samba’s strong left wrist.

The Reds finally killed off the contest with five minutes remaining. Carvalho darted into the box and saw his effort tipped over; from the resulting corner, Yates flicked home at the near post to make the score 3-0.

Huddersfield’s afternoon went from bad to worse in the last minute of the 90, when Bacuna was sent off for a stupid lunge on Nuno Da Costa.

The Curaçao international stopped the Reds from counter attacking with a shocking, deliberate chop to the knee, making no attempt to get anywhere near the ball.

Bacuna will now miss three matches of Huddersfield’s battle for survival (credit: Laurence Griffiths / Getty Images)

Youngster Alex Mighten was denied a fourth for Lamouchi’s side, and his first for the club, by a big Lössl in injury time, before the visitors grabbed their consolation goal in the 97^th minute.

They were incorrectly awarded a penalty, as Fraizer Campbell seemed to trip over his own feet under pressure from Worrall, which Karlan Ahearne-Grant dispatched.

The three points take Forest up to fourth, seven clear of seventh with seven to play, whilst Huddersfield remain in the relegation zone on goal difference.