Nottingham Forest U23s fought hard until the very end, despite playing with ten men for a long period against Newcastle United in the Premier League 2 Division 2 fixture on Monday.
It was a cold night at the Impact Arena in Alfreton as the 232 people in attendance saw the young Forest team put in a valiant effort.
Andy Reid‘s side endured a tough start to the game as Newcastle captain, Elliot Anderson, gave the visitors the lead from the penalty spot in the fourth minute.
Forest came close to grabbing an equaliser through Julian Larsson in the 12th minute but Newcastle goalkeeper Dan Langley was there to make the stop.
The visitors turned defence into attack after Larsson‘s attempt and it culminated in Reds goalkeeper Nicky Hogarth accidentally handling the ball outside the box. The referee chose to send Hogarth off which left Forest with ten men on the pitch
With ten men, Forest showed their resilience and character, and despite coming close to equalising on several occasions, they went into the break a goal down.
HALF-TIME: Forest U23s 0-1 Newcastle U23s
Dale Taylor, who was in the Northern Ireland senior squad for the first time this month, made a good run in the opening minutes of the second half and fired an effort on goal which was saved.
Anderson then scored his second goal for Newcastle in the 51st minute, and 20 minutes later, he completed his hat-trick.
It was a tough night, but Forest didn‘t give in and they got a goal back in the 84th minute with substitute Lewis Salmon poked the ball over the line following a corner.
The Reds battled until the very end and there were many positives about the performance under the circumstances. The result, however, didn‘t fall their way this time.
Andy Reid's side now sit 11th in Premier League 2 Division 2 with 12 points from 12 games. They are next in action on the 29th of November as they travel to Sunderland.
FULL-TIME Forest U23s 1 – 3 Newcastle U23s
TEAM NEWS
Forest U23s: Nicky Hogarth; Jayden Richardson, Baba Fernandes, Sam Sanders, Aaron Donnelly; Josh Barnes (C), Oliver Hammond; Alex Gibson-Hammond (Alex Akers 13'), Ateef Konate (William Fewster 66'), Julian Larsson (Lewis Salmon 74'); Dale Taylor.
Substitutes not used: Rezart Rama, Jack Nadin.
Newcastle U23s: Dan Langley (GK), Ryan Barrett, Matty Bondswell, Jack Young, Niall Brookwell, Harry Barclay, Jay Turner-Cook, Elliot Anderson, Dylan Stephenson, Joe White, Lucas De Bolle.
Substitutes: Charlie Wiggett, Will Brown, Josh Scott, Adam Wilson, Cameron Ferguson.