- Substitute Lyle Taylor claims injury time double at Ashton Gate
- The Reds had fallen behind at the break to Alex Scott’s opener for Bristol City
Steve Cooper made just one change to the 18 from Saturday’s third consecutive victory against Blackpool, with James Garner replacing Jack Colback in the starting XI.
The Reds were wearing their third kit of luminuous yellow and orange on an unseasonably warm but extremely wet West Country evening.
Within just three minutes Lewis Grabban released Brennan Johnson in the inside right channel but, having made his way deep into the Bristol City box, the Welshman was unable to connect cleanly with his shot.
The home side’s first serious attack came after the quarter hour when Jay Dasilva’s shot was blocked by Joe Worrall in the box and then Andreas Weimann’s free header was straight at Brice Samba.
Forest then counter attacked at pace with Johnson cutting onto his right foot inside the box but Dan Bentley made the save.
Nahki Wells and Weimann then combined in the box and the ball fell kindly for Alex Scott but the youngster screwed his shot wide from just six yards.
Neat play from Djed Spence forced the first Reds corner of the match midway through the half and, from the flag kick, the ball very nearly fell to Ryan Yates six yards out before The Robins cleared.
On the half hour, Philip Zinckernagel picked up a loose ball after a scrappy exchange but his shot from 25 yards was high and wide of Bentley’s goal.
Weimann then needed to clear in the box after a neat one-two between Johnson and the Dane which very nearly set Zinckernagel free.
Moments later, The Reds were even closer when, after dispossessing Nathan Baker, Johnson again cut in from the right inside the box and this time hit the inside of the far post with a cross shot from eight yards with Bentley beaten.
The Reds spell of pressure continued when Grabban again released Johnson in the inside right channel. The youngster rounded Bentley but Zinckernagel was unable to control the deflected cross with the keeper stranded.
Then, five minutes before the break, Bristol took the lead against the run of play. A long kick from Bentley was flicked on by ex-Derby man Chris Martin, and when Wells’ shot from the edge of the box was parried by Samba, Alex Scott smashed the rebound into the empty net from ten yards for his first senior goal.
It was tough on Forest who had threatened to take the lead just before the goal but it was Bristol City who held the half-time advantage.
Half-time: Bristol City 1-0 Nottingham Forest
The Reds started the second half kicking towards the 1,500 fans who had made the near 300 mile round trip from Nottingham to the south west.
Forest dominated the possession in the opening stages of the half and nearly created an early opening for Philip Zinckernagel, before Djed Spence’s shot was deflected wide for the Reds first corner of the second period.
The Dane then forced a second corner in quick succession but Bentley managed to bundle the ball clear at his near post. Bristol City countered through Andreas Weimann but, after Tobias Figueiredo dispossessed the Austrian, Max Lowe ran deep into Bristol territory to force another corner.
The ball ran loose to Zinckernagel from his latest corner and, from his subsequent cross, Lewis Grabban turned the ball home from six yards only to be flagged offside.
Moments later, another Zinckernagel corner kick fell to James Garner on the edge of the box but his fierce shot was always rising over Dan Bentley’s crossbar.
There was controversy at the other end ten minutes into the half when goalscorer Alex Scott when down theatrically in the box under challenge from Max Lowe. However, the referee waved away the penalty claims and also chose not book the Robins midfielder for simulation.
The Reds were still penning the hosts in their own half but there was brief respite for City when Nahki Wells audacious shot from the halfway line clipped the top of the netting on Brice Samba’s goal.
Midway through the half, Forest again broke at pace and when Scott bought down Zinckernagel, he was finally booked by referee Simon Hooper.
Steve Cooper then made his first change with Alex Mighten replacing Figueiredo and The Reds changing to 4-2-3-1 formation for the final quarter of the match.
With 20 minutes left, Bristol City nearly doubled their lead when Wells nipped in front of Joe Worrall but his fierce shot struck the outside of Samba’s post. Although the Forest keeper seemed to get his fingertips to the shot, referee Hooper gave a goal kick to The Reds.
Forest were still pressing the hosts and Brennan Johnson could possibly have won a penalty when barged over by Matty James in the box.
Mighten had received plenty of the ball since his introduction and he flashed a ball across the face of goal with fifteen minutes left, before Joe Lolley replaced Philip Zinckernagel and Lyle Taylor replaced Lewis Grabban.
The rain was becoming torrential as The Reds continued to attack, bringing back memories of the 1989 League Cup semi-final at this ground.
Lolley shot powerfully wide from outside the box and then, with five minutes left, more patient Forest build up resulted in Garner feeding Taylor but he couldn’t find any power in his shot on the turn.
Mighten then forced another corner after a run into the penalty box but Garner overhit his cross when he collected the ball in space.
As the match moved towards four minutes injury time, Lyle Taylor made his decisive intervention.
First, a slide rule pass from Ryan Yates released Djed Spence inside the box and referee Hooper had no hesitation in pointing to the spot when Spence was upended by Nathan Baker.
Taylor then coolly stepped up and sent Dan Bentley the wrong way from the spot.
The centre forward quickly retrieved the ball from the net and, from the kick off, The Reds were on the hunt for the unlikely winner.
Then, remarkably, with two minutes of injury time gone, Joe Lolley’s fierce cross shot was parried by Bentley and it was Taylor on hand to score the rebound and give The Reds the dramatic late victory.
The players celebrated in front of the jubilant away supporters and took the winning run to four and, also, made it four wins on the road in succession.
Full-time: Bristol City 1-2 Nottingham Forest
MATCH STATISTICS
Bristol City (3-1-4-2): Dan Bentley (c); Nathan Baker, Rob Atkinson, Tomas Kalas; Matty James; Jay Dasilva, Alex Scott (Kasey Palmer 78’), Andreas Weimann, George Tanner; Nahki Wells (Callum O’Dowda 83’), Chris Martin (Han-Noah Massengo 67’)
Substitutes not used: Max O’Leary (gk), Danny Simpson, Tyreeq Bakinson, Cameron Bring
Goals: Scott (39’)
Bookings: Scott (66’)
Nottingham Forest (3-4-1-2): Brice Samba; Scott McKenna, Tobias Figueiredo (Alex Mighten 67’), Joe Worrall; Max Lowe, James Garner, Ryan Yates, Djed Spence; Philip Zinckernagel (Joe Lolley 77’); Lewis Grabban (c) (Lyle Taylor 81’), Brennan Johnson
Substitutes not used: Ethan Horvath (gk), Gaetan Bong, Jack Colback, Joao Carvalho
Goals: Taylor (90+1’ pen, 90+2’)
Referee: Simon Hooper
Attendance: 18,325 including 1,514 Forest supporters
Possession: 34%-66%
Shots: 9-15
Shots on target: 2-6
Corners: 1-9