Match Reports

28/04/2008 - Forest 1 Luton 0

As the players trudged off the pitch, gasping for breath, the City Ground was lifted by two further cheers that were louder than the one that had greeted the final whistle.

As the result of firstly Carlisle and then Doncaster's games flashed up on the scoreboard, a delighted response and a wholly unexpected question emerged.

Surely automatic promotion is not still possible?

Two days on and the league tables and fixture lists will have been studied with fresh intensity and revived hope.

Suddenly, Nottingham Forest find themselves just three points behind faltering Carlisle and what had seemed impossible barely a week previously, now looks tantalisingly achievable.

Granted, there must be several further twists in the tale if this season is to have the happiest of endings for Colin Calderwood's side, with Doncaster also between them and that all-important second place.

But there is no question that the play-offs may no longer be their only route into the Championship.

Following a performance in which Forest got the job done, without ever really excelling, their priority must be to complete the normal season with the same level of efficiency.

Luton never made life easy for Forest, utilising a well-organised 4-5-1 approach that soaked up the home side's attacking threat for long periods, while also allowing the Hatters to produce some menace of their own on the break.

Afterwards a frustrated Mick Harford lamented his side's luck, insisting they had deserved more from a match that Forest never fully managed to impose their authority on.

But, following an equally hard-fought win at Tranmere Rovers a week ago, Forest are in determined mood.

And, while their inability to emerge from such encounters with three points earlier in the season may have been the cause for their failure to put together a consistent push for the League One title, their recent discovery of how to win ugly may yet be enough to ease them over the finishing line.

There could not have been a more fitting goal to decide this hard-fought and often dour encounter, as Nathan Tyson scrappily bundled the ball into the back of the net from close range, at the second attempt after a Kris Commons cross had been headed down into the danger zone by Garath McCleary.

Because, while they produced fleeting moments of skill and endeavour - such as the moment Commons eluded three Luton defenders with some deft footwork, before delivering the ball into the box for the goal - this was a victory won through different qualities.

These were three points borne out of hard graft, organisation and perseverance.

Commons had come close to opening the scoring with a powerful, bending drive from the edge of the box that forced the first of several strong saves from Dean Brill in the Luton goal.

And Sol Davis cleared dramatically off the line after Ian Breckin had prodded a Sammy Clingan corner goalwards.

Forest had ridden their luck as well, with Sam Parkin glancing the top of the bar with a header, just before Tyson's goal and, late in the game, inexplicably driving wide when presented with a clear run on goal.

Wes Morgan, who had again been in imperious form at the back, could have made it safe with three minutes to go, but saw Brill acrobatically palm away his towering header.

But, while they may have failed to dispatch the likes of Bristol Rovers, Walsall, Northampton and Brighton, who were all allowed to leave the City Ground with at least a share of the spoils earlier in the season, Forest were not in the mood to slip up again.

And with Lee Barnard netting a last-minute winner for Southend at Carlisle and Orient holding Doncaster to a 1-1 draw in East London, a window of opportunity just might yet crack open for Forest in the next couple of weeks.

At the very least, there is going to be a nervous finish.

And it is the sides struggling at the wrong end of the table who could yet have the greatest influence on what happens at the top.

This weekend, Carlisle must travel to face a Millwall side desperate for points to avoid getting sucked into League Two and, having won only six of their 22 games on the road previously this season, that result is far from set in stone.

While hard-working Luton will be looking to restore some pride when they visit Doncaster and Forest will know only too well how tough an opponent they can be.

On the final day, Carlisle face a Bournemouth side who could still have a chance of avoiding the drop while, similarly, Doncaster face a trip to Cheltenham, who are also fighting relegation.

There remains the feeling that there is still something more for Forest to play for than merely ensuring they finish third or fourth to secure home advantage in the second-leg of the play-offs.

But, as Calderwood admitted himself, their fate is still out of their hands.

All they can do - at Hartlepool this weekend and when Yeovil visit on the final day - is make sure that they are in a position to benefit from any more mistakes from their rivals.