Steve Cooper hails Lyle Taylor after Nottingham Forest beat Bristol City

Nottingham Forest boss Steve Cooper praised matchwinner Lyle Taylor after the substitute’s two-stoppage time goals secured a 2-1 win and inflicted more Ashton Gate misery on Bristol City.

The home side, without a home win since January, had worked tirelessly to protect the 39th-minute lead given them by teenager Alex Scott, who fired home after Brice Samba had saved a Nahki Wells shot.

But with the game just beyond 90 minutes, Nathan Baker brought down Djed Spence, allowing Taylor to equalise from the spot.

Seconds later, Taylor grabbed the winner, latching onto the rebound when Dan Bentley parried a shot from another substitute, Joe Lolley.

Cooper said: “I have only known Lyle for three or four weeks, but I really like him and he has a big heart.

“It said a lot that after netting the penalty he rushed to grab the ball for the restart, even though there was so little time left.

“That is the winning mentality we are trying to instil. Lyle has worked really hard on his game since I joined the club and deserved his moments tonight.

“He does some great work for charity, so there is a lot to like about him. But it was a great team effort tonight and a great example of never giving up.

“It is still early days and there are things to work on. Our final ball could have been better and we won’t overlook that.

“But the spirit about the squad was there for all to see and it was a great result for us.

“An away point is never a bad result in the Championship, but we were never going to settle for that.”

Nigel Pearson, without a home win as Bristol City boss after 14 attempts, admitted: “My comments after games here are becoming like Groundhog Day.
“I would have been disappointed had we drawn the game. To lose it in the way we did was tough to take.

“We were naive over the two goals we conceded and our reaction to giving away the first was not good.

“It is my team and my responsibility. I thought we played well enough in the first half, but didn’t protect the ball well enough in the second.

“My job now is to pick the players up because they are understandably very disappointed. I know where we are as a club and where we need to improve.

“Again there was no shortage of effort. But we have to be better at managing games when we are ahead here at Ashton Gate.

“The run goes on and people will keep on talking about it. I try not to get emotional, but of course that is very difficult on nights like this.”