Brighton and Hove Albion 2 Nottingham Forest 1
Evergreen Danny Welbeck felled Nottingham Forest with his 10th Premier League goal of the season, firing Brighton and Hove Albion to a 2-1 victory.
Welbeck’s winner kept Forest firmly in the relegation dogfight after Morgan Gibbs-White had cancelled out Diego Gomez’s early opener for the Seagulls.
The 35-year-old has now scored 10 top-flight goals for the second successive season, having failed to hit double figures in any of his previous 16 top-flight campaigns.
Back-to-back wins have now surely ended any lingering fears of Brighton being sucked into trouble after their recent sticky patch.
But Forest, still juggling Europa League fixtures with the survival battle, remain just two points above the drop zone in what now looks like a three-way tussle, with West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur, to avoid finishing 18th.
With James Milner pulling the strings again on appearance number 655, Brighton took the lead with just five minutes on the clock.
Gomez lashed a volley from an unlikely angle through the legs of defender Murillo and past Matz Sels in the Forest goal.
It was a clean strike from the Paraguay winger but Sels, back in for Forest after missing five games with a groin injury, should probably have done better.
Gomez had made the running to pick up a long forward pass. Having reached the box and been blocked, Pascal Gross played him back in before his low curling strike.
Eight minutes later Forest were level thanks to fabulous goal from Gibbs-White.
Callum Hudson-Odoi’s clever dummy sent Igor Jesus raiding down the left to square for the Forest captain, who took a touch before sending a rocket into the top corner from 20 yards.
But barely two minutes had elapsed when Brighton went back in front after Forest failed to deal with Kaoru Mitoma’s cross.
Jack Hinshelwood headed back across goal and Welbeck had time to control the ball before tucking it past Selz.
Brighton were by now carving Forest apart at will and Sels had to make a good block to deny Mitoma and kept out a Hinshelwood header while Welbeck fired narrowly wide.
The visitors’ desperation at their plight was starting to show, not least when Elliot Anderson was booked for an outrageous dive on the edge of the penalty area.
After the break, Welbeck’s goalbound shot was deflected wide by Neco Williams and, from the corner, Mitoma’s angled drive rippled the side-netting. Sels then reacted well to save a fierce low drive from Gross.
But for Forest, a Gibbs-White header straight at Bart Verbruggen and Taiwo Awoniyi’s off-target header were all they had to show for a sorry second half and, with a trip to Manchester City up next, safety still feels a long way away.
