Defeat but plenty of pride on emotional day at City Ground

THE basic stats show Nottingham Forest suffered a second successive defeat for the first time under Sean Dyche and remain precariously placed in the Premier League table.

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But there was more to Saturday's 2-1 reverse to Manchester City than that. Much more. And certainly enough to suggest the Reds' position just above the relegation zone can change for the better.

The final scoreline offers little hint of the spirited display Dyche's side put in, to say nothing of the performance of the match officials. And it was the latter that proved to be the main talking point when the Forest boss faced the media afterwards; he was furious with referee Rob Jones and his crew.

It was frustrating for Dyche as his post-match interviews really ought to have been focused on how well the hosts played. They may have lost but the general mood was one of pride and optimism - very different to the flatness of Craven Cottage prior to Christmas.

Here's a look at some of the big talking points from the clash at the City Ground.

Right response

Against Fulham on Monday, the Reds had been poor as they were beaten 1-0. They were lacklustre, limp and lacked any kind of spark. Key players failed to deliver and the visitors were left to rue a costly penalty when they might otherwise have come away with a 0-0 draw.

Dyche's charges could have got something against City, too. They deserved a point.

This game was different, though. Everything Forest weren't in the capital, they demonstrated in spades on the banks of the Trent.

They fought, they were energetic, on the whole they were well organised.

And their quality was evident, most notably in Omari Hutchinson's equaliser which came via a terrific Morgan Gibbs-White break.