Nottingham Forest 0 Huddersfield Town 2 - Terriers take huge step towards safety

Without a win in five fixtures and with just two victories in their last 19 games, the Terriers had found themselves dragged into the Championship relegation battle for the second season running.

Aaron Rowe's cool finish late in the first half and Juninho Bacuna's second-half thunderbolt proved decisive as Town made the trip back to West Yorkshire feeling a lot less anxious about the prospect of dropping into League One.

They welcomed back Harry Toffolo for the first time since February 6 and he linked well Rowe and Lewis O'Brien on Huddersfield's left flank.

Injuries have troubled the Terriers this term but players are slowly returning to fitness with Josh Koroma also making the bench in Nottingham.

Forest were unbeaten in four games prior to the contest but for large parts of the 90 minutes they played like a side with little to play for in the business end of the season.

Huddersfield captain Johnathan Hogg admitted during the week that he felt four points would be enough for his side to secure their Championship status for another year, with games against Barnsley, Blackburn Rovers, Coventry City and and Reading now remaining.

Forest started brightly but lacked a sense of urgency as they sought an opening goal.

The hosts were largely restricted to attempts from outside the box but they squandered a decent opportunity to go ahead when Filip Krovinovic pounced on a loose ball and drove into the box but he had his low shot well saved by Ryan Schofield.

The Terriers settled into the contest but spent a lot of time with the ball in their own half as Forest kept their shape to leave Huddersfield looking devoid of any ideas.

Most of Town's positive play came through O'Brien who was constantly looking for gaps in the Nottingham defence.

Rowe had a low effort at the near post blocked behind for a corner by Brice Samba before the Forest goalkeeper got down low to his right to keep out an effort from Duane Holmes.

Samba was beaten in first-half injury time when Rowe pounced on a loose ball from midfielder James Garner and finished expertly into the bottom corner.

Early in the second half, Bacuna almost doubled the lead when he unleashed an effort from the edge of the box but it crashed into the empty seats behind the goal.

However, the 23-year-old grabbed his fifth goal of the league season soon after, striding onto Danny Ward's pass and hammering the ball into the top corner from 20 yards.

Ward, who was introduced as a first-half substitute for the injured Fraizer Campbell, had the opportunity to add a third but he dragged his effort wide from the centre of the box.

Forest upped the ante and applied more pressure in the final quarter but could not fashion any clear openings as Town completed the league double over their hosts.

Nottingham Forest: Samba; Christie, Worrall, McKenna, Blackett; Yates (Cafu 63), Garner, Knockaert (Freeman 81), Krovinovic (Taylor 64), Mighten, Grabban (Murray 81). Unused substitutes: Smith, Ribeiro, Soh, Colback, Jenkinson.

Huddersfield Town: Schofield; Pipa (Brown 84), Keogh, Sarr, Toffolo (Edmonds-Green 66); O'Brien, Hogg; Holmes (High 83), Bacuna, Rowe; Campbell (Ward 41). Unused substitutes: Pereira, Stearman Aarons, Koroma, Thomas.

Referee: A Woolmer (Northamptonshire)

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