Helder Costa gave the away side the lead with a superb solo effort before Ivan Cavaleiro doubled their advantage in the second-half against a lacklustre Forest side at The City Ground.

A slow burner

Many fans were expecting this game to be close considering both teams have been in poor form of late. This was evident in the opening stages of the game where neither side gained a foothold.

As you'd expect from a Paul Lambert side, Wolves gave Forest no time on the ball and didn't make it easy for a side significantly hampered by injuries.

It wasn't until around 25 minutes had gone that we saw the first shot of the match. Jorge Grant was given a place in the starting line-up by manager Philippe Montanier and his shot was well over the bar.

Forest's best chance of the game came when Mustapha Carayol created some space for himself on the left-hand side before delivering a superb cross for Michael Mancienne who failed to hit the target with his header.

Wolves had a good chance of their own soon after as Helder Costa set-up Enobakhare on the edge of the Forest box but he balooned his effort way over the bar causing Vladamir Stojkovic no problem.

However, Wolves did take the lead just moments later in the 40th minute as Helder Costa went on a superb run into the Forest box and blasted in from an impossible angle. However, Forest fans will be disappointed with how he got into that postion unchallenged and could also argue that Stojkovic should have done better.

Forest did muster up some opportunities to equalise before half-time with Osborn's shot flashing across goal from a Matty Cash cross and Matt Mills had an effort straight at the keeper. However, Wolves held out to lead Forest 1-0 at half-time.

A lack of response from Forest

Similarly to last week in the 3-0 defeat at Derby, Forest found themselves with a 1-0 deficit to contend with at half-time. Forest failed to show any desire to get back into that game and it was the same again this week.

Mustapha Carayol's driven cross into Osborn perhaps deserved better but the Forest youth academy product could only divert it behind for a goal kick. Soon after it was Osborn who was provider as he tried to pick out Apostolos Vellios but to no avail.

Forest found themselves with a well positioned free-kick but Matty Cash's effort was way over the bar as Forest became much more desperate as they looked for an equaliser.

Any hopes the home side had of getting anything from the game were dashed in the 79th minute as Ivan Cavaleiro had space to roll the ball into the back of the net after a neat counter-attack from the away side.

This goal came as a result of a lacklustre passage of play from Forest which began with a free-kick in their own half. They decided to play this backwards which automatically put pressure on the back four and ultimately resulted in Wolves winning back possession and sealing all three points.

Where do Forest go from here?

After three very disappointing results in the last week for Philippe Montanier's men, the future looks bleak for Forest.

The club currently find themselves in limbo with the proposed takeover from John Jay Moores still yet to be completed and the growing number of injuries which have hampered Montanier's squad.

Many fans will be calling for the Frenchman to be dismissed after what was a dire performance against a Wolves side who found themselves in 20th place in the Championship table before this fixture and were extremely low on confidence.

Forest have two incredibly tough looking away fixtures to come against Huddersfield Town on Boxing Day and Newcastle United on 30th December. Both teams are flying high at the top of the league and with Forest's dismal away form this season, anything from these two games looks unlikely.

As for Wolves, this result has eased their relegation fears as they move five points clear of the relegation zone and are now just one point behind Forest.

They have two homes games coming up against Bristol City and Queens Park Rangers, two teams close to them in the table.

This will provide a good oppurtunity for Paul Lambert's team to continue to move up the table in the coming weeks.

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About the author
Sam Straw
VAVEL Championship Editor. Journalism Student at The University of Sheffield. Nottingham Forest Season-Ticket Holder. Contributing to VAVEL UK since October 2016.