A gloriously-sunny September afternoon was where it all really started. Against, coincidentally enough, Huddersfield Town.
That was when Nottingham Forest’s shackles came off. When the now legendary hi-vis kit got its first outing. And when the revival began.
From then onwards, the Reds were on a near-constant upward trajectory. It was somewhat fitting that taking on the Terriers again brought it all to an end.
Read more: Why Nottingham Forest's magical season is about more than just promotion
Read more: Inside Forest celebrations with Cooper on guitar, Cafu cartwheels and Worrall singalong
What a season. What a team. What memories.
Best moments? How long have you got! It’s a long list. Still - excluding last Sunday at Wembley - here are just a few of the ones which really stand out.
Lyle Taylor’s Bristol City brace
Those two minutes in added time are the stuff of folklore. Full-time at Ashton Gate was a turning point in Forest’s campaign.
That was when you first got the feeling this group, under the guidance of Steve Cooper, really had something about them. Something special.
Taylor might have ended the season on loan at Birmingham City, but he played a significant part in the Reds’ promotion with those two goals alone. Who can forget the jubilant celebrations at the end, the scenes in the away end and Brice Samba sprinting up the pitch to knee slide in front of the travelling supporters.
That the rain was absolutely hammering down only added to the whole atmosphere. It was iconic.
Forest’s success is typified by their sense of spirit. And that was very much on show against the Robins that night.
Most teams would have setted for a point, having bagged a penalty in the 91st minute. Not this team. They sensed something.
After Taylor had dispatched the spot-kick in his trademark laidback style, he and Brennan Johnson grabbed the ball out of the net and went after more. They got it, too. A 2-1 win snatched from the jaws of defeat.
Blackpool away
The beginning of the final sprint. Forest returned from the last international break of the campaign with a trip to the seaside.
Ahead of the game, there were a few question marks over whether they’d be able to hit the ground running again after the two-week hiatus, whether the Liverpool FA Cup defeat earlier in the month had taken too much out of them, and how they would fare against Blackpool’s decent home record.
All were answered emphatically with a magnificent 4-1 thumping of their hosts. That told the rest of their promotion rivals that the Reds meant business.
Johnson’s quickfire double, after Philip Zinckernagel’s opener, was stunning. And the bow-and-arrow celebration was born.
The fourth was a peach, too. Scott McKenna has to be among the contenders for Forest’s player of the season, and he went on an outstanding run before playing a precise pass for Sam Surridge to finish.
The support has been superb all season, and that one was right up there among the best, complete with various inflatables being tossed around. The press box is situated smack in the middle of the away stand, and it’s no exaggeration to say the desks were shaking at times.
Perhaps the only disappointment would be that the ‘if Yatesy scores we’re in the sea’ chant wasn’t able to be put into practice. It has stuck, though - Ryan Yates was presented with some armbands by one fan, and he mimicked doing a few strokes when marking victory over West Bromwich Albion a few weeks later.
THAT Jack Colback goal
It’s impossible to compile a list of memorable moments without that strike. Whether he meant it or not.
Everyone inside the City Ground that day will be bending many an ear with stories about it for years to come. A proper ‘I was there’ moment.
Colback has been brilliant under Cooper. He’s gone from being on the fringes under previous boss Chris Hughton and considering his future 12 months ago, to being one of the first names on the team-sheet - be that in midfield or at left-back. He has been playing out of his skin, and quite often not in his favoured position.
And he left the entire stadium open-mouthed with that outrageous hit, from an angle he had no right to aim from, as West Bromwich Albion were downed 4-0. The pictures of Surridge with his hands on his head after the ball had flown over him said it all. As did the ones of Colback trying to cover the cheekiest of grins as Johnson ran over to him.
“Yeah, 100 percent yeah,” he said, not entirely convincingly, when asked afterwards whether it was intentional. Who cares, though, it was a stunner.
Cooper at Fulham
Forest, in general, that April night were special. But the evening was topped off by the manager’s celebrations.
It would be interesting to know which video clips have been viewed more - Colback’s goal, Cooper barging through the police line at Craven Cottage or the penalty shootout aftermath against Sheffield United.
Coming away with a 1-0 result in the capital was a real statement. It mathematically guaranteed a top-six finish and it meant the Reds were firmly in contention for automatic promotion at the time.
That they didn’t make second place shouldn’t take anything away from that match. They put in a simply incredible defensive performance.
After Zinckernagel found the net in the 15th minute, it was a backs-to-the-wall job for long spells. Fulham threw everything at their visitors, having 75 percent possession and peppering Brice Samba’s goal with 20 shots.
There was pandemonium among the travelling supporters at the final whistle. And it almost looked as though Cooper was about to join them when he let out a guttural roar as he burst through the police presence in front of the away end, shoulder-barging anyone in his path. Almost as good as the traditional post-victory fist-pumps.
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Shootout joy
Steve Cook summed it up perfectly when he described everything about the second half and extra-time in the play-offs semi-final second leg against Sheffield United as “horrendous”. It was torture to watch.
The penalty shootout wasn’t any less nail-biting. But it would be great to go back in time and relive that night, knowing the final outcome.
With a 2-1 lead from Bramall Lane, Johnson’s first-half goal at the City Ground should have seen Forest ease their way to Wembley. Instead, the Blades produced a stirring second half to level the scores on aggregate.
What followed was up there with one of the best goalkeeping performances you’re likely to see. Samba was jaw-droppingly good.
How he thwarted Iliman Ndiaye with his foot in the 115th minute defied logic, added to a superb stop to keep out the United man during normal time. And then he cemented his place as a Forest hero with three terrific spot-kick saves to send the Reds to Wembley.
The City Ground has witnessed so many incredible moments this season - plenty of which you could argue a case for being on this list (the FA Cup games, Djed Spence’s QPR goal, victories over Derby County and Swansea City). But the outpouring of emotion when Samba thwarted Morgan Gibbs-White will take some beating. A dramatic night to end a magical season Trentside.
