Boss Steve Cooper singled out his team’s “heart and soul” as Nottingham Forest clinched a hugely important victory at Fulham.
But the Welshman refused to get carried away with his team’s position in the table, as the 1-0 success guaranteed a top-six finish for the Reds, who moved up to third. And with second-placed Bournemouth only drawing against Swansea City, the gap between the two sides is now down to three points.
Philip Zinckernagel’s first-half goal proved to be the difference at Craven Cottage, on a night when the visitors produced an outstanding defensive performance to keep their opponents at bay. With three games left to play, Forest are certain of a play-off place at least - and the battle for second is very much on.
Read more: How the Reds rated against Fulham
Read more: Re-live the action from Craven Cottage
“It was a brilliant win. The toughest game of the season, in terms of before it,” said Cooper.
“I’m sure Fulham will be champions. Playing them away from home was always going to be the toughest game, and it proved to be that.
“It felt like we attacked the game from the start. We wanted to put pressure on Fulham, force them into a mistake.
“Maybe we were a little bit fortunate with it, from what I’m getting told. But for me, I like our attitude towards the game and how we forced that moment.
“Fulham had more of the ball than us. It’s not what I normally like, but I accept that tonight. But we still created as good a chances as them.
“It was a game of doing everything right, in terms of defending. When they got around the box we showed some intricate defending, and we also showed heart and soul with blocks, and desire.
“It’s obviously a really good night, in terms of the result. Do I love it when we don’t have as much of the ball as that? No, but I accept it tonight. I think we deserved what we got.
“Swansea on Saturday is the only thing in our mind now. We need to look at what went well and what we need to improve on.
“We need to get ready for another tough game on Saturday. It’s been our approach until now, and there’s no need to change.”
