Nottingham Forest delivered the kind of away performance that can change the temperature of a season. Under pressure to keep distance from the bottom three, Forest arrived at the Gtech and left with a clinical 2-0 win, shaped by two goals of real quality and a defensive display that refused to bend even when Brentford had most of the ball.
Brentford started fast and could easily have written a different story in the opening minutes. Igor Thiago had an early chance that went narrowly wide, the sort of moment that tends to define matches at this level. Forest, though, didn’t wobble. They absorbed the early intensity, kept their lines compact, and waited for the game to present them with the spaces Brentford usually deny at home.
The breakthrough arrived on 12 minutes and it was a goal that carried both power and personality. A cross flicked up into the air, and Igor Jesus did the rest, using his body well to win the duel before lashing a fierce finish across goal. It wasn’t just a finish, it was a release valve: Forest’s travelling support could finally exhale, and Forest’s players looked like a side with a clear plan rather than a side playing with fear.
From there, the match settled into something more tactical than chaotic. Brentford saw plenty of the ball, but Forest were happy to defend in blocks and funnel play into areas where they could compete for first contacts and second balls. Morgan Gibbs-White and Elliot Anderson did important work in helping Forest retain the ball when it mattered, giving their defence breathers and ensuring Brentford couldn’t set up camp with constant waves of attacks.
Brentford’s afternoon was complicated by injuries that forced reshuffles and disrupted their rhythm. With Mikkel Damsgaard and Kristoffer Ajer both going off in the first half, the home side had to adjust shape and personnel. They kept their possession, but their best spells often ended with hopeful deliveries rather than clear chances, and Forest’s centre-backs dealt with what came into their territory.
The second half was tense, with Brentford pushing and Forest increasingly choosing the moments to break rather than trying to dominate the ball. Brentford’s control of possession didn’t translate into a flood of shots on target. Forest’s defensive work was direct and unapologetic, the kind that makes forwards feel every duel and turns promising positions into dead ends.
Then came the clincher, and it was a striker’s goal with a winger’s rhythm. With around ten minutes left, Gibbs-White’s quality in transition helped release Taiwo Awoniyi, who powered away, cut inside, and finished calmly past CaoimhÃn Kelleher to make it 2-0. It was a goal that didn’t just kill the match, it inflated Forest’s belief.
The stats tell a familiar Brentford story in possession, but a very unfamiliar one in end product. Brentford had 65.9% of the ball, yet managed only one shot on target, while Forest had two on target and scored twice. Brentford finished with 10 shot attempts to Forest’s seven, but the difference was sharpness in the decisive moments.
Forest head coach Sean Dyche praised the balance of their performance, pointing to how they worked both with and without the ball, and how they managed the game after going ahead. Brentford boss Keith Andrews was blunt about the frustration, stressing that good spells and good intentions aren’t enough at this level without ruthlessness in the boxes.
For Forest, it was more than three points. It was proof that they can win away from home with a mixture of resilience and quality, and it was exactly the kind of result that steadies the hands on the wheel in a relegation fight. For Brentford, it was a reminder that dominance without incision can feel like noise without music.
