Morgan Gibbs-White provided the perfect response to his England omission by helping Nottingham Forest to their first Premier League win since the opening day of the season.
Gibbs-White has been left out of Thomas Tuchel’s squad for next week’s World Cup qualifiers, but he reminded the German coach of his talent with a decisive goal in the 3-1 win over Leeds on Sunday.
The midfielder’s second-half header helped end Forest’s winless run of nine league games as they picked up three points for the first time under manager Sean Dyche.
It wasn’t pretty at all as they had to come from behind, with Ibrahim Sangari canceling out Lucas Nmecha’s opening goal for Leeds.
Elliot Anderson’s late penalty sealed a vital victory for Forest, who have now taken four points from their last two games and are looking to be heading in the right direction.
They are just two points behind Leeds, who have lost four of their last five games.
Heroic Forest supporter Stephen Crean was saluted before the match after he was involved in a Huntingdon train accident last weekend, where he suffered serious injuries while protecting a young girl from an attacker.
He watched his side get off to a promising start when Gibbs-White, sensing he had something to prove, curled a shot around the post by Leeds goalkeeper Lucas Perry.
Perry was in the thick of the action and soon after made a miraculous save when an acrobatic clearance from Igor Jesus’ shot deflected off Joe Rodon.
It was a huge moment as Leeds came out on top at the other end and took the lead in the 13th minute.
Forest right-back Nicolo Savona was reluctant to make the clearance, allowing Brenden Aaronson to slide in Nmecha. He still had work to do, but he fired a brilliant low drive into the far corner.
The home side reacted quickly and equalized two minutes later, but this time Perry did not cover himself in glory. The Brazilian could only cross from Dan Ndoye to Sanjari, who slotted the ball home from 12 yards.
Hopes for goals were misplaced as the first half turned into a tense game with little else to score.
Gibbs-White tested Perry again from the edge of the box but it was a comfortable save.
Forest almost took the lead three minutes into the second half when Ndoye sprinted to the byline and passed to Jesus, whose shot was blocked by the legs of Jayden Bogle.
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They were knocking on the door and Gibbs-White burst through it in the 68th minute, perfectly latching on to Omari Hutchinson’s cross from the right.
Leeds pressed for an equalizer and almost found it in the 79th minute as Dan James’ shot was beaten by Matz Sells, with Bogle somehow putting the follow-up wide.
English midfielder Anderson decided the match with a penalty kick in the 90th minute after Hutchinson was fouled by Jack Harrison.
