Taylor secures victory for U21s

By Ant Fingerhut

Forest U21s got back to winning ways against Hull City in the Premier League Cup thanks to Dale Taylor’s second half winner at The Impact Arena.

After a 45-minute delay to kick-off, the visitors got the game underway but it was Forest that started brighter. Dale Taylor forced Hull goalkeeper Harry Fish into a smart, low save in the 8^th minute.

Seconds later, Billy Fewster’s long-range strike cracked the top of the crossbar before spinning out of play.

The Tigers grew into the game and were denied an opener by George Shelvey who got down low to hold a curling strike from Will Jarvis after the Hull winger’s jinking run from the left.

The game remained an evenly fought affair with both sides looking to find the breakthrough. For Forest, Alex Gibson-Hammond saw his effort hit the side netting before Hull’s Sincere Hall struck a long-range strike straight at Shelvey in the Reds goal.

As the game reached the half-hour mark, it was the backlines that remained on top with both teams finding clear cut opportunities at goal hard to come by.

Forest finished the half with a flurry of set pieces that tested the Tigers defence, however Fish remained untroubled in the Hull goal.

Half time: Forest U21s 0-0 Hull City

The second half continued in a similar vein as the first, with both sides lacking the final ball to carve the other apart. Oli Hammond had the first meaningful effort of the second period ten minutes in, playing a tight one-two in the Hull box before swiveling and firing inches wide.

Forest continued to press and second-half substitute Lewis Salmon was denied an instant impact by Fish in the Hull goal. The forward showed a clean pair of heels to breeze past Jevon Mills but was denied by the Hull stopper as he looked to poke the ball home.

Momentum had swung in favour of the young Reds. Billy Fewster again went close from range as the central midfielder's half volley whistled just over the Hull goal.

Eventually, Forest found the breakthrough they had been searching for in the 69^th minute. Dale Taylor received the ball to the left of the Hull box and went alone, finding the bottom corner with a fierce effort from the edge of the area.

Following the goal, Hull looked for a response through a succession of corners. The most threatening corner was cleared commandingly by Forest skipper Aaron Donnelly, who nodded away in front of Josh Emmanuel who was lurking at the near post.

Hull continued to press but the Forest backline were resilient and held firm to hold onto the lead and see out the victory in the PL Cup. The three points keeps Forest 2^nd in their group with six of nine possible points so far.

Full time: Forest U21s 1-0 Hull City