It’s not definite yet. Not quite. But Nottingham Forest have taken a big, big step towards guaranteeing a top-six finish.
Not that anyone at the City Ground will be getting carried away, or getting ahead of themselves. Steve Cooper will make sure of that. Previous experience also urges caution in these kinds of situations.
Still, it felt like a particularly significant result at Peterborough United. And a hard-fought one at that. The kind which suggests this team can grind out important results in different ways.
Read more: How the Reds rated against Peterborough
Read more: Re-live the action from Forest's clash with Peterborough
The Reds didn’t have it all their own way at London Road. Indeed, for a fair chunk of the game it was tough going.
A scrappy affair had been low on chances in the first half. Posh might well have thought they’d go in at the break feeling pretty happy with their 45 minutes’ work.
But that’s what good teams do. And particularly good strikers. Sam Surridge made the difference.
Surridge brings something different to the table, compared to what Lewis Grabban and Keinan Davis offer. His work-rate and movement off the ball shouldn’t go unnoticed. But most importantly, he is incredibly clinical.
He had barely had a sniff at goal until just before the half-time whistle. Lay the ball on a plate for him like that, though, and he’s unlikely to miss too many.
It proved to be crucial on the day. And it could be crucial in the play-off race, too.
With Grabban picking up an injury late on, and Davis already sidelined, more responsibility may yet fall on Surridge. In this kind of form, having made it two in two, you’d back him to thrive in those circumstances.
Losing Grabban again would be a blow. But Forest have shown they can cope with set-backs before. They’ve also shown they can win in different ways. The next few weeks promise to be interesting, exciting, nerve-wracking and tense. But they will be a heck of a ride either way.
