Steve Cooper hailed a “really important win” as Nottingham Forest toppled Coventry City 2-0 to move into the play-off spots.
The Reds were not at their best at the City Ground, and the Sky Blues had the makings of being tricky opponents. But Cooper’s side found a way to secure the three points with what proved to be a comfortable scoreline in the end.
Brennan Johnson bagged his 15th of the season in the first half. And James Garner doubled the hosts’ lead after the break, with Forest going fifth as they saw out the victory.
Read more: How the Reds rated against Coventry
Read more: Re-live the action from the City Ground
“It was a really important win. I think that’s the main headline,” said Cooper.
“It was a challenging game. A challenging game tactically.
“The way they set up with that box in midfield really does test you positionally. We were aware of it. I know Coventry are a rival, but I do have a lot of respect for how they play, and how they have stuck to it over the last few years.
“They test you. We had to be positionally right, which in general we were. But we turned the ball over too much in the first half and we didn’t make enough passes. At times we were taking too many touches. Because of that, we didn’t get the fluidity in the game. When we did do it, we got in good positions.
“The goals were excellent. Great moves, with Keinan (Davis) playing in Jack (Colback), and Jack flashing the ball across for what ended up being Brennan’s goal. Brennan did excellent in a manic moment, showing great composure.
“And then at half-time, I said all of those things to the players. I thought we did it fairly better in the second half and created enough good moments to get the second goal.
“And then we saw out a challenging game fairly comfortably. I did think we could have managed the last six or seven minutes a bit better, because we made some rash decisions. But I am always going to want more.
“But it was an important win. There were some really, really good bits, but also some bits that we need to address as well.”
