The Championship game between Nottingham Forest and Leicester City at the City Ground on Saturday Dec 5 2009.
In his pre-match programme notes, Billy Davies heralded the strength of his Nottingham Forest squad.
His players lived up to the billing here as they took full advantage of Leicester’s weaknesses with five goals at the City Ground to complete an 11-game unbeaten run.
Robbie Earnshaw, a bit-part player for much of the season, scored his first hat-trick in four years as Nottingham Forest moved ahead of the visitors to go third in the Championship.
Paul Anderson, signed from Liverpool for just £250,000 in the summer, and substitute Dele Adebola completed the rout.
Davies said: “Great credit to this squad because they really responded to what we did the last few days. We did a lot of tactical work on Leicester City. A lot of work in training. We were really well organized and well disciplined and we worked well at the back.
“Earnshaw scored three great goals but that’s what happens when you develop a squad. You get competition and that’s how you get the best response out of your players.”
Leicester manager Nigel Pearson had no excuses for his team’s woeful performance. “We were second-best today, in every department,” he said.
His team have struggled for goals for much the season, but yesterday, his previously near impenetrable defence crumbled.
“I’ve had a look at the videos, but I’m not going to single out any one department for criticism,” he said. “We win as a team and we lose as a team.
“We were below par today. We just didn’t perform. It’s unacceptable and we can’t play like that again.”
Earnshaw put the home side ahead after just 11 minutes after a one-two with strike partner Dexter Blackstock left him free in the box with just the goalkeeper to beat.
Thirty minutes later after Leicester’s goalkeeper, the excellent Chris Weale, blocked Blackstock’s shot the ball fell to Earnshaw again who finished clinically from 10 yards to make it 2-0 at half-time
Leicester started brightly after the break, but it was again first blood to Forest as defender Jack Hobbs backed away in face of an Earnshaw run from midfield and the forward claimed his third from 18 yards out.
Paul Anderson then curled in a superb fourth from an acute angle.
Martyn Waghorn pulled a goal back for Leicester with a penalty in the 64th minute after a Blackstock handball. But it was far too little, far too late as Garath McCLeary set up Adebola to make Davie’s day with Forest’s ninth goal in just two games.
“I knew we had the goals in us,” Davies said. “I’ve just been waiting for them to come.”
Match details
Nottingham Forest: Camp, Gunter, Morgan, Wilson, Shorey, McKenna, Majewski (Tyson 60), Cohen, Anderson (McCleary 70), Blackstock (Adebola 66), Earnshaw.
Subs: Chambers, McGugan, McGoldrick, Smith.
Booked: Cohen.
Leicester: Weale, Neilson (Morrison 62), Hobbs, Brown, Berner, Oakley, King, Wellens, Kermorgant (Howard 29), Fryatt (Dyer 36), Waghorn.
Subs: McGivern, Logan, N’Guessan, Gallagher.
Booked: Howard.
Referee: M Russell
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