Nottingham's stunning bright day changed into a torrential downpour, perfectly encapsulating Forest's current predicament. The team of Nuno Espirito Santo entered the match with the intention of finishing third. With four games remaining, their hopes of qualifying for the Champions League are now dwindling. Kevin Schade gave Brentford the lead in a straightforward manner after a tense first half in which Keane Lewis-Potter controversially avoided a second punishment for blocking off Ola Aina after previously receiving a warning.
Aina stumbled on a long ball from Nathan Collins, which gave Schade the opportunity to chest the ball down and get by Matz Sels.After 40 minutes, Forest had their first attempt on goal of the game, capping a dismal first half. If Sels hadn't made a spectacular close-range stop against Sepp van den Berg before to Schade's opening goal, it would have been worse.