Nottingham Forest 3-0 Ipswich Town - BBC Sport
Britt Assombalonga scores twice as Nottingham Forest cruise past Ipswich to avoid relegation on goal difference.
Last updated on .From the section Football

Britt Assombalonga grabbed a double as Nottingham Forest avoided relegation on goal difference with an emphatic win over Ipswich at a sell-out City Ground.

Assombalonga's penalty settled early nerves and Chris Cohen's deflected strike made it 2-0 after the break.

With relegation rivals Blackburn and Birmingham both winning, Forest's safety was still not certain.

But Assombalonga then sealed victory with a fine solo strike to ensure Blackburn drop out of the Championship.
• None 'It should never have come to this'

The closing stages were played out in relative comfort, safe in the knowledge that Blackburn's 3-1 lead against Brentford still left Tony Mowbray's Rovers three goals shy of forcing Forest into the third tier of English football for the third time in their history.

Thousands of Reds fans raced onto the pitch to celebrate their survival at the final whistle.

However, despite a blistering Forest start which brought four shots on goal in the first two minutes it was a nervy first half.

Both Rovers and Birmingham led early on and Forest keeper Jordan Smith had to make two magnificent saves - most notably to deny Dominic Samuel's fierce deflected shot.

But Eric Lichaj, who had earlier wasted a great close-range chance, took a quick throw-in and, after the ever-alert Jamie Ward was smashed to the ground by keeper Bartosz Bialkowski, Assombalonga blasted the penalty into the top corner for a half-time lead.

Forest's longest-serving player and club captain Cohen made it 2-0 and Assombalonga made amends for seeing his spot-kick brilliantly saved to add a third following a quickly taken free-kick.

The relief as thousands of fans ran onto the pitch was clear, but the frustration and pain following a dreadful season was equally obvious. The bigger picture is that supporters are resentful it has come to such a desperate situation.

Five years under Fawaz Al Hasawi's ownership have seen the two-time European Cup winners finish progressively lower each season. The promise was to take the club out of the division but not back down to League One.

Increasing anger from fans, amid a backdrop of failed takeovers and a seemingly never-ending succession of managers culminated in this season's miserable relegation scrap.

Another attempt to buy the club by Evangelos Marinakis - the owner of Greek champions Olympiakos - is well advanced.

Reds fans are taking nothing for granted, but the feeling of enough is enough is palpable and a summer of stability under manager Mark Warburton and the new owners - if that deal goes through - is the clear aim.

"We can never allow ourselves to be in this position again. Ever. I said to the boys we must make a vow to make sure this never happens again.

"The last few weeks have hurt but we have to remember this feeling and make sure we never experience it again. It can't be allowed to happen.

"A relegation dogfight is not what we are about and I am confident it won't happen next season, and I say that because I have seen the quality within the squad.

"I've seen enough in the seven or eight weeks I've been here to know that with a good pre-season behind us we can put a marker down next season."

"I thought the first half was pretty even, we matched them. They had the better of the second half and maybe that was because they had more to play for.

"In the end it's brilliant, it's like Nottingham Forest have won the league. The scenes have been brilliant. It was either going to be a wake or a celebration and up until they scored the penalty it could have been a wake. But good for them, good for Mark Warburton.

"In the end that game has probably summed our season up - some good, some bad and some indifferent."
• None Attempt blocked. Kieffer Moore (Ipswich Town) header from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Grant Ward with a cross.
• None Attempt missed. Grant Ward (Ipswich Town) right footed shot from outside the box is too high. Assisted by Jordan Spence.
• None Ben Osborn went off injured after Nottingham Forest had used all subs.
• None Delay over. They are ready to continue.
• None Delay in match Ben Osborn (Nottingham Forest) because of an injury.
• None Offside, Nottingham Forest. Ben Osborn tries a through ball, but Britt Assombalonga is caught offside.
• None Attempt missed. Zach Clough (Nottingham Forest) left footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the left.
• None Attempt missed. Britt Assombalonga (Nottingham Forest) right footed shot from the left side of the box is too high. Assisted by Zach Clough.
• None Offside, Nottingham Forest. Chris Cohen tries a through ball, but Eric Lichaj is caught offside. Navigate to the next page Navigate to the last page