From the Ken Smales Archive

1894 - We beat Heanor Town 1-0 at home in the F.A. Cup, but it took us to extra time to do so, thanks to a Jock Brodie goal. The attendance was reported to be in the region of 5,000.

1932 - Despite 19 goals from Johnny Dent and 21 from Billy Dickinson we only finished eleventh in the table in the 1931-1932 season. On this day Johnny scored a hat-trick against Bradford Park Avenue in a 6-1 victory at the City Ground. This was second time he had grabbed three in a game and he went to get two more for us in a career return of 122 goals in 207 appearances for Forest. Sounds to me like he was a bargain buy at £1,500 from Huddersfield Town in October 1929.

1934 - Tom Peacock scored for us in a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea in the 4th round of the F.A. Cup where the attendance of 53,269 generated receipts of £3,367. Team:- Ashton, Smith, Barrington, McKinlay, Graham, Pugh, Masters, Race, Dent, Peacock, Simpson. As was the practice in those days, the replay was just four days later, the Police apparently happy to supervise matches at short notice.

1951 - This was in our Third Division (South) championship season and we beat Crystal Palace 6-1 at Selhurst Park when every forward got his name on the score-sheet. Five players were designated forwards in those days!. Forest:- Walker, Hutchinson, Thomas, Anderson, Gager, Morley, Scott (1), Leverton (1), Ardron (2), Johnson (1), Collindridge (1). Palace:- Bumstead, Harding, George, Whittaker, Watson, Chilvers, Broughton, Kelly, Kurz, Rundle, Hanlon. Attendance 17,179. It is interesting to compare the size of first-team squads in those days with the current ones. Only twelve players were called on for the vast majority of the games with Clarke (1), Anderson (8), Hutchinson (6) and Love (4) being the only others to make appearances.

1974 - 4th round of the F.A. Cup v Manchester City at the City Ground, remembered as the Duncan McKenzie match. Of course there were a few other players on the pitch too ! Team:- Barron, O'Kane, Winfield, Chapman, Cottam, Richardson, McKenzie (1), Lyall (1), Martin, Jackson, Bowyer (2). Attendance - 41,472.

1979 - We had beaten Villa 2-0 at Villa Park in the first round of the F.A. Cup and now we entertained York City on a snow-bound City Ground. As was reported in the club programme, the Fourth Division side gave a good account of themselves but once the breakthrough was made there seemed to be no doubt about the outcome of the game. That vital first goal came from the left boot of Larry Lloyd who ventured up field and struck a superb 30 yard effort into the top corner. Goals by John McGovern and Martin O'Neill wrapped up a 3-1 win, but it was Lloyd's contribution that was vital. The 'Big Man' quipped "I think the slippery conditions were made for my delicate touches" Team:- Shilton, Anderson, Bowyer, McGovern, Lloyd, Burns, O'Neill, Gemmill, Birtles, Woodcock, Robertson. Attendance 25,228. Referee C. Seel.

1998 - The Evening Post revealed, in an article by Ian Ladyman, that Bobby Houghton was to leave Forest to become manager of the Chinese national team. The City Ground assistant manager - who was only appointed last summer - has been handed a lucrative four-year contract by the Chinese and will start work next week. Manager Dave Bassett and football consultant Irving Scholar both made vigorous attempts to persuade Houghton to stay, but without success. (Houghton photo)

2005 - Frank Barlow checked-in after being appointed by Gary Megson as his assistant manager. Said Megson "He's got that experience, got that honesty and still got that enthusiasm and drive and I think he will be an important signing for the Club"

2006 - We lost 2-0 at home to Barnsley with Nathan Tyson being sent off in the 90th minute - two yellow cards. It was also the match that saw Sammy Clingan making his debut.

2009 - Former Forest favourite Brian Laws, who was manager of Sheffield Wednesday, brought his team to the City Ground with an improving record. But we had improved too and went on to extend our unbeaten run to six games including four wins in the League. This turnaround in fortunes had occurred since Colin Calderwood had departed the Club following our defeat to Doncaster Rovers on Boxing Day. We won this game 2-1, despite several squad injuries, which lifted us up to seventeenth in the table with 33 points; four points clear of the drop-zone. Team:- Smith, Chambers (1), Wilson, Breckin, Heath, Davies (Thornhill), McCleary (Maloney), Perch, McGugan, Tyson (1), Earnshaw (Garner). The attendance was boosted to 22,618 by the presence of 3,587 'Wednesday' supporters. Jermaine Johnson put the visitors in front in the 28th minute but we pulled that back to 1-1 with a Nathan Tyson goal (34) and Luke Chambers headed a 75th minute winner. Francis Jeffers was shown a straight-red for a bad tackle on Joe Heath in the 39th minute.