Two Britt Assombalonga goals, the first after 17 seconds, the fastest in the Championship this season, and the second in first-half injury time, saw Nottingham Forest to a 2-0 victory over the Blues at Portman Road, their first away win of the season. Town huffed and puffed as they looked for a way back into the game in the second half but never seriously threatened a resolute Forest backline.
Josh Emmanuel’s return for the injured Adam Webster was Town’s only change with the 19-year-old in his usual right-back role with skipper Luke Chambers moving to the centre of the defence.
Forest made two changes with Daniel Pinillos making his return from injury at left-back after 11 months with Hildeberto Pereira banned following his third red card of the season. Chris Cohen was absent with a groin injury and Thomas Lam came into midfield.
The game was only 17 seconds old when the visitors went in front. After Town had kicked off, a long ball hit forward by the Forest defence was nodded inside by Jonas Knudsen towards Christophe Berra but the Dane caught the centre-half off balance.
Ben Osborn picked up the loose ball and fed Assombalonga, who was in the clear to the left of goal and hit a shot across Bartosz Bialkowski and into the net to claim the fastest goal in the Championship so far this season.
Forest continued to have the better of the opening minutes and on seven Pajtim Kasami found himself the space to shoot at the far post on the right but failed to trouble Bialkowski.
In the 17th minute Assombalonga struck a freekick which caught the wall and was claimed by Bialkowski after Teddy Bishop had given the ball away to the former Peterborough striker, then fouled him not far outside the area.
A minute later, Kasami hit a low effort from the left which Bialkowski helped past his post, although the shot appeared to be going wide in any case.
Town’s first effort at goal came in the 19th minute but Tom Lawrence’s 30-yard freekick flew wide.
On 25 Bialkowski did well to stretch to grab Eric Lichaj’s deflected cross from the right ahead of Assombalonga, whose pace on the counter-attack was proving a big threat for the visitors.
Town had struggled to make an impression on the game having been rocked by the early goal but on the half hour they weren’t far from equalising.
Lawrence turned Emmanuel’s clever ball into feet into the path of McGoldrick, who cut in from the right and curled a shot which Forest keeper Vladimir Stojkovic pawed away from goal when the striker seemed destined to score against his old club.
But Forest remained the more dangerous looking side and went close again on 37 when Damien Perquis’s header from a corner on the right was blocked on the line at the post by Knudsen.
A minute before the scheduled break a frustrated McGoldrick was booked for a foul on Kasami on halfway having given the ball away just outside the Forest area.
And in the aftermath of the freekick, the visitors doubled their lead. The Blues were repeatedly unable to clear and Assombalonga stooped to head home after Matt Mills had nodded on a cross from the right which had deflected into the air.
Lawrence scuffed a frustrated shot well wide before the half was brought to an end by the referee’s whistle, which was greeted by a chorus of boos.
Town’s first half had got off to the worst possible start, had ended in the same manner and hadn’t been much better in between with the Blues never really getting going after the shock of conceding so early on.
When Town had got on the ball all too often passes went astray, while Lawrence’s freekick and McGoldrick’s shot, which was well saved by Stojkovic, were the only two chances which had been created.
The Blues, so impressive at Sheffield Wednesday a fortnight ago, required a huge improvement in the second half and it was little surprise that manager Mick McCarthy made two changes with Kevin Bru and one-time Forest loanee Jonny Williams replacing Bishop and Ward.
Town began the half on the front foot with a number of dangerous balls flying across the box but without falling to Blue shirts.
But it was Bialkowski who made the first serious save of the second half, the Polish keeper getting down to his right to block Henri Lansbury’s shot with Emmanuel hooking the loose ball away.
On 55 Lawrence smashed over a low ball from the right which Stojkovic palmed into the middle of the penalty area by past McGoldrick and rather fortunately to a Forest boot, which cleared.
A minute later double goalscorer Assombalonga was replaced by Apostolos Vellios, who was immediately booked for a foul on McGoldrick. On 63 Forest switched Pinillos for Michael Mancienne.
Forest should have made it 3-0 a minute later when the ball was cut back from the left and Berra stabbed it away from Vellios, but it fell loose to Kasami, who slammed his shot against the outside of the post from the edge of the box when he should have scored.
At the other end, Bru played in Sears on the right of the area but the former West Ham man’s ball into the area was cleared.
On 69 Lansbury was booked for a bodycheck on Sears, then while the Blues prepared to take the freekick Emmanuel was replaced by Luke Varney.
Town were getting balls in the box but all too often they’d be cleared by the first defender or would find the keeper’s arms. Forest were continuing to look much more of a danger on the break with a goal looking possible every time they went forward.
Lansbury curled a shot into Bialkowski’s arms in the 71st minute on such a counter-attack before Lawrence scraped a low shot wide at the other end.
Sub Varney threatened for the first time on 74 but Stojkovic got across to his left to claim.
Two minutes later, Lawrence claimed a penalty when he skipped into the area and appeared to have his legs taken from under him as he cut inside Mancienne. Referee Peter Bankes showed no interest.
Forest had another chance to make it 3-0 in the 83rd minute when skipper Chambers headed the ball into the path of Vellios, but his shot was too close to Bialkowski.
A minute later Lawrence claimed a penalty for a second time when he exchanged a one-two with McGoldrick and ran into the solid wall of Forest defenders which was continuing to successfully repel everything the Blues threw at them.
Town continued to look for an opening in vain as the game moved into four minutes of injury time, a somewhat conservative figure given the extensive time-wasting by Stojkovic and his defenders during the second half.
Knudsen shot wide from distance on the left, then shortly before the end the ball ricocheted over the bar off the Dane’s boot.
The final whistle was greeted by boos, albeit more muted than those at half-time, but after another frustrating half.
Having gained their two-goal lead before the break, Forest were able to sit back in numbers and defend their lead, which they did successfully with Stojkovic never forced to make a serious save.
Town, who have struggled when behind all season, frequently got into positions to get crosses into the area but the Forest backline were largely untroubled and deservedly recorded their first clean sheet of the season.
The visitors might well have won the game more convincingly with the second half’s best chances theirs, Kasami hitting the post with an opportunity he really should have taken.
The result, Town’s second home defeat of the season, sees the Blues drop to 17th in the table with QPR, who beat Norwich City 2-1 earlier today, at Portman Road next Saturday.
Town: Bialkowski, Emmanuel (Varney 70), Chambers (c), Berra, Knudsen, Skuse, Bishop (Bru 46), Ward (Williams 46), Lawrence, Sears. McGoldrick. Unused: Gerken, Kenlock, Douglas, Dozzell.
Nottingham Forest: Stojkovic, Lichaj, Mills, Perquis, Worrall, Pinillos (Mancienne 63), Lansbury (c), Lam (Grant 85), Kasami, Osborn, Assombalonga (Vellios 56). Unused: Henderson, Dumitru-Cardoso, Carayol, Lica. Referee: Peter Bankes (Liverpool). Att: 15,417 (523).