Nottingham Forest 5 - 0 QPR
Watching Forest win any game is usually enough to please anyone, but tonight there was something intensely satisfying as there was clear evidence of lessons being learnt from the Reading game. Billy Davies had expressed a wish for his players to be more ruthless, and as a result they played as though to remove the six-goal difference between us and Newcastle in order to gain top spot (albeit for just 24 hours) seemed not an unreasonable request.
They wasted no time in setting about a QPR side supposedly with tentative ambitions of making the play-offs, but in reality looking very much a beleagured side with revolving doors to and from the manager's office, and welcome though he was back on Trentside for the evening, you had to feel sorry for Mick Harford and the mess he's inherited.
Not that Forest were in any mood to show them any pity. After a bright start (a record 4.5 minutes late - 7.45 is the time the game is supposed to kick off, not see the players emerging from the tunnel!) which saw Forest attacking [unusually] the Trent End with purpose, and James Perch was clearly relishing his first league start of the season having stepped in to cover for the suspended (but hopefully not yet departed) Nicky Shorey out on the left.
If the way Forest asserted their authority on the game was perhaps not quite as fluent as they did in the opening period against Reading, we needn't have worried. However just as momentum began to slacken off we were awarded a free kick deep in Earnshaw territory just outside the box. One delicate chip over the wall and to the left of 'keeper Ikeme's despairing dive was all it took for a 20th minute lead.
We'd barely had time to settle back into our seats when it got even better. QPR had failed to get the measure of our forward line, and Blackstock and Earnie were causing them all sorts of problems. But when Ando started off on a scintillating run from midfield, their defence was ripe for an Alan Hansen-style lecture. Earnie, unmarked in acres of space out to the right, was waiting for the pass which duly arrived, and no doubt buoyed up by his strike a couple of minutes earlier, you just knew this was a chance he was never going to miss, and from 12 yards he slotted the ball home with considerable aplomb. Yum yum.
Oh, well that's it then. On course for another hat-trick. However ten minutes later it was clear there was the certain matter of recent penalty misses to consider when he managed to win one after some good passing down the right allowed Earnie to advance along the inside of the box, only to be brought down by Kaspars Gorkss doing a passable impression of Desperate Dan in sleepwalk mode.....splat!
You could hear the fans shouting No! No! No! as Earnie picked himself up, and it was Blackstock who made it clear he was going to take the spot kick, which he put away with some venom, sending Ikeme the wrong way in the process. Never mind, Earnie. We know you can score great goals, just like you've done already tonight. You're just a better (and safer) bet with free kicks than pens!
It was already turning into one of those games you wished could go on all night. The deckchairs were out and the cigars were lit. QPR had barely ventured out of their own half, and once again Lee Camp could have watched the first half from the stands. It was a slightly different story after the break, but such was the authority in which he commanded his box, there was rarely a moment we looked in any kind of danger, even when a free kick was sent sideways for Nigel Quashie (how we miss him.....not!) to send a tame-looking shot which was easily saved.
Three minutes into the second half, and we were four up. Once again Perchy was able to move forward and released a superb ball for an unmarked Chris Cohen to run onto before unleashing a 25-yarder. For a split second it looked as if Ikeme had managed to get a hand to it, but the power behind the shot was too great and the ball landed high in the back of the net. Superb goal!
This goal seemed to wake up the hitherto dormant crowd as suddenly Newcastle's superior goal difference didn't look that superior anymore, and the fans took great pleasure in reminding everyone of this, as the possibility of going top tonight was a real prospect. There must have been something in the wind tonight as it was raining goals at Ashton Gate and (surprisingly) at The Keepmoat, though neither of these games was going to affect our position.
The pattern of the game altered a little which allowed QPR to at least try to revive the game as a contest, though their poor finishing posed little threat to another clean sheet for Camp. After a while though Forest returned to the attack, with Earnshaw determined to get that hat-trick.
But it was ultimately Perchy who (deservedly) managed to get himself on the scoresheet for the fifth goal after Cohen's attempt was blocked and Earnshaw scuffed the ball as it went across the goalmouth, and Perchy, following up deep from the left managed to slot home from a very tight angle. Confusion had seemed to be the order of the day as QPR's defence was left spread-eagled with the ball pinging about all over the place. Job done.
Changes had allowed Tyson to come on for Ando, Adebola for Blackstock and, (slightly worrying) Wes had to be replaced by Chambo having picked up a slight knock. Needless to say all three players came off to standing ovations, and the subs all had their part to play, especially for Tyson to run at QPR's punch-drunk defence.
BD's post-match comments were, as expected, trying to stop people from getting too excited, preferring to emphasise the fact there's still a long way to go, which there is. Still no desire to go bigging-up the P-word, but maybe a hint that it is a realistic target having expressed a desire for those precious points. Talking of which, we are now one point short of last season's total, with almost half the season still to play. Coupled with the fact this is now the 19th league game unbeaten. If that's not a measure of the way BD has turned things round here, then I don't know what is. Feeling is good here, and justifiably so - possibly the best for twelve years.
Gallows humour has at long last given way to humour of a different kind, especially given the number of goals we've seen lately. Ironic quote of the night came from the bloke behind me late on as he quipped 'C'mon lads! Five's no good, get yer finger out!' They may not have achieved top spot tonight, but boy did we have fun watching them try - and come within a goal of succeeding!
Ref Watch: E Ilderton - Was decisive when it mattered. Did a good job.
Entertainment Value: With the goals fairly evenly spread throughout the game, along with Forest's latest brand of football, it was once again a joy to watch. 9/10
Atmosphere: Strangely subdued during the first half, though granted it was cold. Picked up after the break, especially after the fourth goal went in, with chants of 'Two more goals and we're top of the league' beginning to reverberate around the ground, not to mention 'Bring on the D3rby!'
Highlights: Five well-taken goals to kill the game off effectively and with authority; another clean sheet; West Brom drawing tonight puts some daylight between us and third place, despite their game in hand.
Lowlights: Big Wes picking up a knock which may rule him out of Saturday's trip to The Sheep Dip.
Stinker: No chance.
Stormer: James Perch, for the way he has forged his way back into the line-up, his goal a fitting reward for his all-round contribution tonight. Though in reality this was a team performance, where every single player in a Forest shirt should be proud of themselves.
Premiership Chump Of The Week: Fulham FC, who showed no appreciation for the romance of the FA Cup by snubbing the facilities at The Crown Ground in what was possibly Accrington Stanley's biggest game ever. Stanley showed grit and determination, giving an excellent account of themselves; Fulham's gesture by contrast showed how Premiership snobbery is alive and well.
