Nottingham Forest 0-1 Charlton Athletic: Lyle Taylor strike earns victory at City Ground

Lyle Taylor’s first-half strike ruined Nottingham Forest’s chances of going second in the Championship as Charlton Athletic eased their relegation fears by ending a dismal 12-game winless away run.

Taylor powerfully steered home Naby Sarr’s delicious left-wing cross after Forest lost possession and the Addicks held on with little alarm to move up to 19th place in the table, six points above the relegation zone.

A Reds side missing top scorer Lewis Grabban, one of five changes from the team that so impressed in dismantling Leeds United at the City Ground on Saturday, struggled to find their attacking fluency despite the best efforts of Tiago Silva and the ever-busy Joe Lolley.

Silva twice went close before the break while Sarr very nearly put through his own net with a sliced clearance that hit the top of the bar.

Tyler Walker, Grabban’s replacement, came closest to levelling in a disjointed second period, but Forest failed to take advantage of the 1-1 draw between Brentford and Leeds and slipped to fifth spot following their eighth defeat of the season.

The Reds had six wins from their past nine games and began brightly enough in an open game on a bitterly cold evening which ended in deep frustration for the majority of a near sell-out crowd.

Home keeper Brice Samba twice had to make decent saves, stopping a fierce Alfie Doughty strike at his near post and, after Taylor struck, also pushing away a long-range Erhun Oztumer effort.

Forest’s best first-half moments mainly stemmed from Silva, who was every bit as influential in midfield as Oztumer.

Silva tested keeper Dillon Phillips with a sharp turn and shot and then bounced an effort wide from distance. The Portuguese was also involved in a slick move that saw Walker scoop a shot just off target from Adama Diakhaby’s left-wing centre.

But the closest the hosts came to an equaliser was when Sarr’s sliced clearance from Carl Jenkinson hit the bar and went over.

Chances were limited after the break, with Charlton wasting numerous good attacking positions and Tomer Hemed guilty of some wayward finishing.

At the other end, Forest striker Walker was unable to get a convincing connection on a cross by substitute Matty Cash and sent his effort meekly into the arms of Phillips as Charlton secured a first away league victory since August to go six points clear of the bottom three.