Youth shines through for Nottingham Forest as they pick up vital win in promotion hunt away at fellow contenders Blackburn Rovers

Nottingham Forest’s young players made the difference as they picked up a vital win in the context of the Championship promotion race, leaving Ewood Park with a 2-0 victory over fellow contenders Blackburn Rovers.

James Garner put the Reds ahead midway through the first half after Keinan Davis provided him with a stunning assist before Brennan Johnson added a second with a penalty as the clock ticked past 90 minutes.

On a night where Blackburn slipped out of the automatic promotion spots and lost captain Darragh Lenihan to a red card, Forest jumped up to sixth and occupy the final play-off spot at the time of writing.

A lot of football is to be played this season of course, but as it stands, the pair would face off in the play-off semi-final.

Six of Steve Cooper’s starting lineup in East Lancashire were aged 24 or under, with eight of Blackburn’s 11 meeting the same threshold.

It was the hosts who went closest early on with a quick free-kick that caught Forest napping. Joe Rothwell played a pass to John Buckley with the latter seeing Brice Samba deny him one-on-one. Chilean striker Ben Brereton Diaz also failed to convert the follow-up in a sign of things to come for Rovers.

Aston Villa loanee Davis showed his prowess at the other end soon after, chasing down a ball and crossing for Max Lowe to strike at goal but the fullback saw his volley cleared away.

There was no stopping the opener midway through the first-half from the visitors though, with Davis showing lethal pace and a touch of class to first get away from four Blackburn men in his own half before striding forward.

The 23-year-old, who made 15 appearances in the Premier League for Villa last season, regained his balance having been knocked to the ground and slipped in teammate James Garner, himself only 20 and on loan from Manchester United for the second campaign running.

Garner showed composure in the box to cut back on his right foot and slot home, giving the Reds an advantage.

On the charge once more, Davis drew a foul from Rovers skipper Lenihan before the break with his opposite number picking up a booking which would prove crucial.

He was again fouled by Joe Rothwell shortly after the restart before Lenihan lunged in on Jack Colback and saw referee Joshua Smith brandish a second yellow which was inevitably followed by a red one.

The encounter had an edge to it at Ewood, but tempers boiled over as a bottle was thrown from the home supporters in the direction of Forest goalkeeper Brice Samba, something becoming all too common in the sport.

On the pitch, the feeling that a goal was going to come was present, though it was not clear which side it would go to in an open game.

Both had countless chances and on off the bench for the last 20 minutes, Sam Surridge could have had a hat-trick for Forest with no exaggeration needed.

Brereton Diaz had a tame header saved well by Samba before Forest sealed victory as 7 minutes of added time were shown.

A break upfield saw striker Surridge, signed from Bournemouth in January, bundled over inside the box, with teammate Johnson stepping up and converting with the composure of a vastly-more experienced player than his age suggests.

Blackburn will look to end a run of two consecutive defeats when they travel away to West Bromwich next Monday, while Forest welcome Stoke City to the City Ground on Saturday.

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