![]() A split-second after controlling the ball in the Southampton box, Ainsley Maitland-Niles pressed self-destruct, whacking the achilles of the lively Johnson. Photograph: Ryan Browne/Shutterstockįorest were roared off the pitch at half-time, their two-goal buffer restored after Gibbs-White sent Alex McCarthy the wrong way from the penalty spot. Taiwo Awoniyi scores his second goal in quick succession. Bella-Kotchap, injured trying to keep up, headed down the tunnel with the help of medical staff. With Bella-Kotchap grounded with a hamstring problem, Jan Bednarek did brilliantly to prevent Johnson locating an unmarked Awoniyi. Nothing epitomised the absorbing nature of this game more than Brennan Johnson burning past Armel Bella-Kotchap after 10 minutes, leaving the Southampton centre-back floundering like Scrappy-Doo and then on all fours. “I just spoke to one or two players that I know and they said: ‘What an atmosphere’,” Cooper said afterwards. There is something special about games under the lights here at the best of times and filthy conditions only enhanced an entertaining, if sometimes slapstick, encounter. Any hope generated from Leicester’s pummelling at Fulham quickly evaporated by the time Everton coasted to a surprise victory at Brighton. Perhaps it was no surprise that this game was played at a breathless pace given both teams’ pressing need for points. “They wanted to come back, they wanted to play. “I think the boys showed character,” Rubén Sellés, the Southampton manager, said. It was all a stark contrast to Gibbs-White embracing pitch security staff as Forest completed their victory lap to the thud of Just Can’t Get Enough. James Ward-Prowse, a little withdrawn and extremely deflated, looked deep into the stand. Southampton’s players, sullen-faced, gathered, largely hands on hips in front of the travelling fans. Mathematically, Southampton can survive but it will take a miracle from here. With three games to play – trips to Chelsea and Crystal Palace, on the final day, bookend a date at home to Arsenal – Forest’s heads are above water. This was not a night that was good for the blood pressure but by the end Forest, courtesy of a Taiwo Awoniyi double, Morgan Gibbs-White’s penalty and a decisive strike by Danilo, had wrapped up a brilliant win over the bottom club Southampton and a precious three points, breathing life into their bid for Premier League survival. It is, Cooper said, a price he is willing to pay if the results keep coming. Perhaps he had anticipated the wild ride that was to play out over the course of 101 minutes of white-knuckle action. ![]() Then, before taking a seat in the home dugout, Cooper inhaled deeply and a prolonged puff of the cheeks followed. ![]() A few minutes before kick-off, as has become tradition, Steve Cooper emerged from the Nottingham Forest tunnel to a wall of noise, another feverish atmosphere.
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