Leicester 3-0 Forest

Leicester sought sweet revenge over East Midlands rivals Nottingham Forest, as goals from Bruno Berner, Paul Gallagher and Andy King gave City a thumping victory to keep the promotion wagon in motion.

After the 5-1 humiliation at the City Ground back in December it was important for Pearson’s side to regain some pride to keep their playoff hopes alive, and they certainly did just that with a superb 3-0 victory.

Pearson recalled Matt Oakley and Paul Gallagher to the first team at the expense of Dany N’Guessan and Nobby Solano, following the 1-0 win at Doncaster last week.

In a match that promised so much, the first half was a relatively scrappy affair as neither side could find a passage to break the deadlock.

Robert Earnshaw, hat-trick hero for Forest at the City Ground, came closest for Billy Davies’ side, his header from Chris Cohen’s free-kick bouncing back off the crossbar.

Michael Morrison also came close to heading Leicester in front just after half-time, but his header also came crashing off of the crossbar. Had it gone in it would not have counted anyway however, the young defender finding himself in an offside position.

But as both sides pushed on for the game’s opening goal, it was the home side who finally achieved the breakthrough. A superb backheel from Richie Wellens inside the penalty area found left back Bruno Berner, who made no mistake of firing home from close range.

And just ten minutes later it was two for Pearson’s men, Paul Gallagher’s wonderfully flighted free-kick finding the top corner of Lee Camp’s net from twenty yards.

The Forest collapse was completed wo minutes later when Berner’s cross-cum-shot was stabbed past the helpless Camp by Andy King to complete the rout for City.

The win keeps Leicester in 5th, closing the gap on Forest themselves in the process and still holding a game in hand. With both Blackpool and Cardiff losing it was a crucial three points for City’s promotion charge, and a result which could be vital for the final standings.