Nottingham Forest 1-0 Rotherham United: Grabban spot-kick ends Rotherham resistance
- Published
Lewis Grabban scored his second goal in as many games for Forest
Lewis Grabban's late penalty finally broke Rotherham's stubborn resistance to give Nottingham Forest back-to-back wins.
A game of few chances looked to be heading for a tame goalless draw until Ryan Williams brought down Ben Osborn, and Grabban dispatched the spot-kick.
Neither side mustered a shot on target in a forgettable first half, but Forest sparked into life soon after the break against the defensively-minded Millers.
Joao Carvalho brought down Saidy Janko's cross and fired against the post, and then led a swift counter-attack which saw Gil Dias' low shot force the first save of the match.
The City Ground is not a happy hunting ground for Rotherham, who had won just once in 17 visits and not beaten Forest in a 22-match streak stretching back to September 1956.
They were content to cede possession and let their five-man midfield attempt to stifle the attacking threat of Aitor Karanka's side, with Richard Towell's shot from an acute angle forcing the only save from Forest keeper Costel Pantilimon.
But Rotherham's hard work and stubborn resistance looked to have earned its due until Joe Lolley's through ball and Osborn's run finally unpicked their back four, and Grabban held his nerve.
Forest, who are unbeaten at home in eight matches, moved up to ninth, while United, who have lost all five away matches this season, dropped a place to 19th.
Nottingham Forest boss Aitor Karanka:
"The problem was that we were physically and mentally tired.
"Three games in a week has been really intense. But in this Championship, it is important to win the games when you do not play to your best.
"We will keep going, we will keep working and we will keep improving."
Rotherham United manager Paul Warne told BBC Radio Sheffield:
"I thought we were excellent, we set up in the right way, on the counter-attack we looked really dangerous.
"The lads have trained really well, they came into the game with a lot of confidence and I think they were more than deserving of a point.
"It's difficult to take at the moment. The win will come sooner or later, but I'm really proud of how they performed."
