Lewis Grabban scored twice to help Sabri Lamouchi celebrate a year in charge of Nottingham Forest with a comfortable 3-1 win over sad Huddersfield.
Grabban scored two minutes before the break and again within a minute of the restart to bring Forest under control when he increased his season record to 19 goals.
The late end of Ryan Yates sealed a win that put Lamouchi’s team in fourth place in the championship and gave the Frenchman more reason to celebrate just over a week after signing a new contract.
Danny Cowley’s Huddersfield, on the other hand, is in the relegation zone after a second loss since the restart due to the goal difference.
They ended the game with 10 men after Juninho Bacuna’s red card in the 89th minute and Karlan Grant’s penalty in the 96th minute.
Forest took the lead almost early when ex-Huddersfield man Joe Lolley stormed right into space before cutting the ball back to Sammy Ameobi, who struck a shot against a post.
At the other end, Alex Pritchard threatened a free kick that gave Brice Samba a clever, if somewhat awkward, parade.
The Huddersfield man was back in the spotlight when he went out after a challenge from Ben Watson. Although Pritchard fell to the ground quite enthusiastically, there was no contact from Watson on the ball, but Forest survived the penalty.
Ameobi came closer again when he shot a header directly over the goal. And in the 43rd minute, Lamouchi’s team took the lead.
Joe Worrall playfully chased a corner-to-left flank before looking up to deliver a brilliant cross to the long post where Grabban arrived to deliver a powerful, instant volley to the back of the net.
After scoring in the last two minutes of the first half, Forest scored again in the first minute of the second half. In fact, it took 55 seconds for Grabban to hit again when he reached the end of a simple but precise ball from Ameobi before shooting home and scoring 2-0.
Huddersfield almost pulled one back when Andy King shot a header against the crossbar while Lewis O’Brien saw a shot that was narrowly deflected. But Ameobi also shot a shot on the wrong side of a post.
Grant was rejected by Samba, who held the ball on the second try, but Forest continued to threaten, with Lolley barely missing the goal with a low shot.
Substitute Bacuna’s strong free kick was well saved by Samba, who became an influential figure.
Yates secured three points for Forest when he forced a corner from Lolley home and the situation got worse for visitors when Bacuna was dismissed from a challenge against Nuno da Costa.
Grant pulled one back after death after Worrall pushed substitute Fraizer Campbell in, but Forest was already home and dry.
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