Nottingham Forest boosted their Premier League survival hopes by returning to winning ways with a disciplined 2-0 victory at Brentford today.
Goals from Igor Jesus and Taiwo Awoniyi restored Forest’s five-point cushion above the relegation zone.
The result also consigned Brentford to a second consecutive league defeat and ended their seven-match unbeaten home run.
Forest arrived under pressure after mixed recent results but produced a composed display that balanced early incision with late control.
The visitors struck after 12 minutes through Jesus, whose finish set the tone for the game. Caoimhin Kelleher got a hand to the effort but failed to stop it.
Brentford had threatened early, with Igor Thiago sliding wide inside two minutes after Kevin Schade broke down the left.
That miss proved costly as the hosts struggled to regain attacking fluency after falling behind.
Forest settled into a compact shape, with Morgan Gibbs-White and Elliot Anderson controlling possession and tempo in midfield.
The Bees were disrupted further when Ajer and Mikkel Damsgaard were forced off injured before half-time.
A brief spell of pressure followed, but Sepp van den Berg headed narrowly wide from a long throw on the stroke of the interval.
The second half was attritional, with Brentford enjoying territory but finding little space against a well-organised defence.
Murillo and Nikola Milenkovic dealt calmly with crosses and direct play as Forest remained content to defend deep.
As frustration grew among the hosts, Forest began to sense an opening on the counter-attack.
That moment arrived with 10 minutes remaining when Gibbs-White released substitute Taiwo Awoniyi down the right.
He outpaced Van den Berg, cut inside and slid a composed finish beneath Kelleher to seal the win.
It was Awoniyi’s first league goal in a year and a significant milestone following his serious injury late last season.
Forest saw out the closing stages comfortably, prioritising shape and discipline as Brentford ran out of ideas.
The victory extended Forest’s unbeaten league run to three matches and provided a timely lift after midweek European disappointment.
