Stevenage v Nottingham Forest Player Ratings

Chris Day: 7. A couple of good saves low down early on but had no chance with Forest’s opener. Consistent display from the evergreen keeper and deserved his warm ovation on being subbed late on.

Ronnie Henry: 7. Showed powerful running with effective overlapping but was always alert to danger defensively. Provided a great cross for Williams to head narrowly over in the first half. Good run out for the Stevenage stalwart.

Jerome Okimo: 6.5. Had his work cut out on the left flank especially in the first half as the raw Akinyemi failed to provide cover. Showed character as never hid or shirked a challenge.

David McAllister: 7. Constantly showed willingness to get involved and receive the ball. Unruffled display aided by a simplicity of style with simple but effective balls to teammates in space despite being in the heat of the battle.

Fraser Franks: 7: Signed for the club on Friday after being released by Luton Town on a free. The Hatters could live to rue their decision as the new lad looked solid and uncompromising. A debut for the 24 year-old to be quietly satisfied with.

Mark Hughes: 7: Alert to the smooth passing from the team which finished mid table of the Championship in May. Brave and put his body on the line with blocks and no-nonsense tackling when required. Uncomplicated and kept his shape and discipline well.

Tom Pett: 7. Lively throughout and played at a good tempo even if his end product could have been sharper, but that will come. Will have benefitted from the run-out.

Dean Parrett 7.5: Intelligent distribution when in possession and continually looked to run into space when his colleagues attacked. A fulcrum of the team with his dead ball nous. Good energy levels and always looked to harry opponents. Tenacious.

Brett Williams: 7. A somewhat frustrating night for the big man up front and often found himself shackled – yet still managed to be a handful for high calibre defenders with his lively movement. Effective distribution when playing with his back to goal.

Charlie Lee: 7. Looked to run at men out wide as much as possible. Showed bravery when clatttered just before half time but gave a passionate display throughout.

Dipo Akinyemi: 7.5. Raw and inexperienced and was rightly furious at himself for giving away a needless penalty when diving in. Showed his callowness at this level when failing to provide cover for left back Okimo – yet astutely given a chance to redeem himself in the second half by Sheringham, and seemed to grow in stature as game progressed by showing nice touches. A lot to learn but looks very promising and will be better for the experience.

Subs:

Triallist for Day on 68 minutes. Appeared calm but not much to do apart from pick the ball out of the net in the last minute.

Dale Gorman for Henry (66). Solid.

Louis Yamfam for Okimo (79). Not much time to make an impact.

Tom Conlon for McAllister (66). Will be pleased to get some game time.

Ryan Johnson for Franks (56). The powerfully built defender slotted into to Franks’ role perfectly.

Matthew Smyth for Hughes (72). Tidy.

Robbie Sweeney for Pett (78). Not much time to make an impact.

Nathan Kerr for Parrett (73). Will have enjoyed the run-out.

Triallist for Williams (66). Tremendous shot that De Vries did well to save.

George Casey for Lee (66). Another who will have gained from making an appearance.

Triallist for Akinyemi (83). Not much time to make an impact.

Nottingham Forest

Dorus de Vries: 7. A vocal display from the well-travelled Dutch keeper. Marshalled defence well as befits someone who played nearly 200 games for Swansea City and won a Championship play-off final.

Eric Lichaj: 7.5. Composed and polished. An impressive display from the right back who has played Premiership football for Aston Villa. Showed good attacking intent and was unlucky with a first half drive. There won’t be many better right backs in the second tier of English football on this display.

Michael Mancienne: 7. The former Chelsea youngster who once played against Juventus in the Champions League gave an uncomplicated performance and did the simple things well in attempting to nullify Boro’s attacks. Not afraid to do the dirty work in the engine room.

Matthew Mills: 8: The experienced centre-half who was once on Manchester City’s books as a youngster showed his talent by netting Forest’s second with a scooped shot. Good in the air, proficient on the ground and held his line well. Good technique for a centre half.

Robert Tesche: 7. Powerful runner who constantly probed for openings. Good energy levels.

Henri Lansbury: 8. Silky skills and great vision from the former Arsenal player schooled in the art of attack by none other than Arsene Wenger. Effective distribution if sometimes a little over-ambitious. Thumping penalty straight down the middle for the second goal.

Danny Fox; 7. Tried to link up at times with Lansbury down the left flank but not always successful.

Michael Antonio: 7. Good leap on him and was unlucky with a powerful header saved by Day. Faded.

Nicky Maynard: 7. Pacy but not always involved as much as he would have liked.

Jack Hobbs; 7.5. Solid display interspersed with moments of quality. Looked to play the ball forward when circumstances allowed and was rewarded with his positivity with a classy goal from close range to make it 3-0 to Forest on the final whistle.

Jamie Ward: 8. Full of running and slide rule passes. A cultured player who gave his all.

Subs:

Stephen McLaughlin on for Mancienne on 89 minutes. No time to make an impact.

David Vaughan for Milles (73). Looked rusty.

Ben Osborn for Tesche. Will have enjoyed the occasion.

Jorge Grant for Lansbury (87). Another player who saw little of the ball in the short time he was on.

Roger Riera for Fox (89). No time to make an impact.

Jamie Patterson for Antonio (50). Looked to push on at every opportunity. Unlucky with a jinxing run which saw a right-footed shot fly narrowly wide after he cut in from the left.

Chris Burke for Ward (66). Always looked to get involved.