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. Then, before taking a seat in the home dugout, Cooper inhaled deeply and a prolonged puff of the cheeks followed. Perhaps he had anticipated the wild ride that was to play out over the course of 101 minutes of white-knuckle action. It is, Cooper said, a price he is willing to pay if the results keep coming.
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. 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. Mathematically, Southampton can survive but it will take a miracle from here.
