Nottingham Forest vs Leicester City. Premier League.
The City GroundAttendance29,301.
Match report and free highlights as Brennan Johnson scores two second-half goals to give Nottingham Forest a 2-0 win over Leicester in the East Midlands derby; Harvey Barnes misses big chance in each half for Foxes, who have now lost four consecutive league games
Saturday 14 January 2023 18:42, UK
Boyhood Nottingham Forest fan Brennan Johnson scored both goals to settle the East Midlands derby as Forest jumped above Leicester with a 2-0 win at the City Ground.
Forest were well worth their first back-to-back wins since promotion but Leicester's fourth successive league defeat will again raise the pressure on manager Brendan Rodgers.
Towards the end of the game, the travelling support unfurled a banner aimed at the club's board and the Foxes' lack of new signings this season.
Academy graduate Johnson had to wait to celebrate his first of the afternoon with a slick counter-attack initially ruled out by a raised offside flag, before VAR ruled he had timed his run behind Wout Faes to perfection.
Johnson doubled the advantage five minutes from time, latching onto Morgan Gibbs-White's pass and finishing powerfully past Danny Ward.
Forest's win lifts them to 13th, five points clear of the relegation zone, while Leicester drop to 15th with their cushion over the bottom three still just two points.
The anticipation surrounding the first Premier League meeting between these two East Midlands rivals soon faded away in a first half devoid of real chances.
Harvey Barnes missed the best of the bunch by some distance, skewing a free effort wide on the turn when he decided against shooting on his weaker left foot.
The Foxes winger was again wasteful after half-time, side-footing past the post shortly into the second half with Leicester threatening to make the most of their limited possession and territory.
It wasn't until the second-half introduction of Sam Surridge, moving Gibbs-White deeper in the process, that Forest really turned up the pressure on Leicester and were soon rewarded with the opening goal.
A slick break started by Surridge found Gibbs-White, who played a perfect pass in behind for Johnson to run onto.
The forward, who has been at Forest since he was eight years old, rounded Danny Ward and slotted home before his celebrations were cut short by the offside flag.
His disappointment was short-lived, however, after a VAR check from Stockley Park found he had been played onside by Faes' trailing leg.
As Leicester pushed increasingly desperately for an equaliser to avoid another consecutive defeat, the holes in their defence proved inviting for Forest, who nearly doubled their lead through Surridge's diving header which flashed wide.
They finally earned their cushion in the final five minutes when Johnson lashed a second past Ward on the angle from another fine Gibbs-White pass.
That proved the final straw for some of Leicester's fans, who unveiled a banner in the away end criticising the club's board as they fell to a 12th defeat of the season, as many as they suffered across the whole of two of their last three campaigns.
Nottm Forest manager Steve Cooper told Sky Sports:
"The second-half performance I thought was excellent. It was an even game, we gave them a chance but that was poor defending from our point of view.
"Half-time was just about stepping everything up a bit. We felt the game was there to be won and we played really well second half, took the chances we created, managed the game really well and were good for the win.
"Nobody wants to be a good sub and Sam [Surridge] isn't that, but that's what he's been playing lately and he's having an effect every time he gets on the pitch.
"It's not just about who's starting, we've had a three-game week so substitutions were always going to be important especially as we more or less kept the same team.
"For the guys who came on to have the impact they did, they really helped and managed to keep the energy levels for the whole game."
Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers told Sky Sports:
"There weren't too many chances in the game, they had two and we had two but we didn't take ours.
"I was pleased with the first half, we controlled large parts of the game and got into some good areas without making the final pass, but we started the second half really poorly.
"It was too slow, we gave the ball away cheaply which created a bit of momentum for them. But we still were fine in the game and had the chance with Harvey, and then the first goal is a really disappointing one from our perspective.
"We lose our discipline in the middle of the field, the pitch is so open - and that's one of the things we talked about at half-time was about controlling their counter-attack. It was disappointing.
"It's like earlier in the season, we have to continue to work hard to find the solutions. Today was a great opportunity for us, we felt good at half-time without being in front. Then we started too slowly and lost that concentration which allowed them the opportunities in the game.
"There's a long way to go. It's a long season, we haven't played well consistently since we started back, we have to find the solutions again and keep fighting. This club is always the same - when we sign a player, you'll know about it but until then we'll continue to work hard and look to our next game."
Nottingham Forest's next game is a crucial clash away to Bournemouth in the Premier League on Saturday - kick-off 3pm.
Leicester's next outing is a home Premier League game against Brighton on Saturday - kick-off 3pm.
