Nottingham Forest are back in the Premier League! The Reds ended a 23-year absence from the top-flight as they beat Huddersfield Town 1-0 in the play-offs final at Wembley.
The atmosphere at Wembley was electric before kick-off. A spine-tingling rendition of Mull of Kintyre and a brilliant Forza Garibaldi display had the away end rocking.
And there was a mighty roar just before the interval when the Reds took the lead. It had been a nervy first half, though.
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Forest saw plenty of possession in the opening 45 minutes, but Town did a good job of strangling their threat. The Terriers had a few dangerous moments of their own, too.
Ryan Yates had a decent chance to open the scoring with just 12 minutes gone. James Garner whipped a free-kick towards the far post, where his midfield teammate glanced a header narrowly wide.
Yates tried his luck again 10 minutes later. Nice link-up play between Steve Cook and Philip Zinckernagel teed him up on the edge of the area, but he blasted his effort off target. A probing run from Djed Spence soon after saw the defender try to find Brennan Johnson with the cross, but it floated inches over his head.
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Huddersfield started to come more into the game on the half hour. And Forest looked a little edgy at the back.
Sorba Thomas got past Joe Worrall down the left and saw his cross-shot parried by Brice Samba. Minutes later, Garner made a brilliant recovery tackle to help out Worrall after he lost out to Danny Ward. The latter wasn’t too far away from the resulting corner.
It looked as though the teams were going to go in at the break all-square. But Garner popped up with a touch of class to break the deadlock.
Davis played his part in the build-up, then the Manchester United loanee delivered a peach of a ball into the box. Jack Colback ducked under it, and Levi Colwill put the ball into his own net under pressure from Yates.
The midfielder had another go soon after the restart, but fired straight at Lee Nicholls. At the other end of the pitch, just before the hour, Jonathan Hogg headed over a Thomas corner.
Garner tested Nicholls with 60 minutes gone. But it was Huddersfield who were having the better of the second half.
With 15 minutes to go, Forest’s nerves were on edge as VAR checked for a possible penalty. Harry Toffolo was booked for diving as Colback stuck out a leg, and the video check agreed no foul had taken place.
They had to survive an injury to Brice Samba as the final whistle neared. But the Reds came through it and ended a magical season with promotion to the top-flight. Here’s how Reds reporter Sarah Clapson rated the Forest players at Wembley.
Brice Samba: Not the way he will have wanted to leave the pitch, being forced off with an injury. Had been cool and calm throughout. Rating: 8/10
Joe Worrall: What a moment for the academy graduate. Took a while to settle into the game and got caught out a couple of times in the first half. Picked himself up and kept going, though. Bursting with pride as he led the team out. Rating: 8/10
Steve Cook: A warrior at the back. Stayed alert throughout to mop up any danger. The Reds didn’t have it all their own way, but the Great Wall of Nottingham stood firm. Rating: 8.5/10
Scott McKenna: A typical performance from the centre-back. Kept his cool when on the ball and helped keep Huddersfield at arm’s length when they pushed forward. Rating: 8.5/10
Djed Spence: Such a threat when he’s in full flow, and he got the chance to put on the after-burners a few times down the right side. If that is the end of his time in a Forest shirt, what a way to sign off. Rating: 8.5/10
James Garner: Class. Showed his quality on the biggest of stages. Delivery was excellent, and made the difference. Put in a brilliant recovery tackle at the other end, too. Rating: 9/10
Ryan Yates: No surprise that he helped force the goal by putting himself in the mix. Didn’t stop running all afternoon, putting in countless tackles. Rating: 8.5/10
Jack Colback: Will have had his heart in his mouth when VAR checked for a possible penalty as he stuck out a leg in the direction of Harry Toffolo. Pretty stoic otherwise. Rating: 8/10
Philip Zinckernagel: Worked tirelessly. Wasn’t easy as the Terriers did a good job of frustrating Forest’s attack. Some nice link-up play when the football did flow. Rating: 8/10
Brennan Johnson: Found it tough to get into the game at times as Huddersfield stifled him. Some bright moments, though, and dug in when the going got tough. Rating: 8/10
Keinan Davis: Didn’t see as much of the ball as he would have liked, but caused problems when he did - including for the opener. Reds fans showed their affection for the Aston Villa loanee when he departed. Rating: 8/10
Subs
Sam Surridge (for Davis, 66mins): Lively when he came on and looked to stretch the Huddersfield defence. Rating: 7.5/10
Max Lowe (for Zinckernagel, 74mins): Fantastic occasion to make his comeback from injury. Might have got a little lucky with a penalty shout. Rating: 7/10
Ethan Horvath (for Samba, 89mins): Saw out the final minutes to send the Reds up. Rating: 7/10
Subs not used: Figueiredo, Mighten, Cafu, Lolley.
