Britt Assombalonga at the double as Nottingham Forest win at Ipswich
Britt Assombalonga scored twice - included one after just 17 seconds - as Nottingham Forest kept their first clean sheet of the season with a well-deserved 2-0 win at Ipswich.
The striker took advantage of horrendous defending from the out-of-sorts home side to grab a goal at the start and end of the first half.
Ipswich threw bodies forward after the interval but struggled to break down a resolute Forest backline, who had come into the game with the second worst defensive record in the Championship.
They took a stunning lead with just 17 seconds on the clock when Ben Osborn latched on to a loose header from Jonas Knudsen before releasing Assombalonga who drilled the ball low past Bartosz Bialkowski.
The home side were clearly shell-shocked and Pajtim Kasami almost grabbed a second on 17 minutes when his low shot was turned around the post by Bialkowski.
On the half-hour mark, the home side finally showed some class in possession when Lawrence's brilliant flick released David McGoldrick.
Town's number 10 turned inside Matt Mills but his shot was brilliantly parried away by Vladimir Stojkovic.
Forest went close to doubling their advantage when Damien Perquis' strong header was bundled off the line by Knudsen.
But they did not have to wait long after some more comical defending from Ipswich from Mills' hopeful header in the area allowed Assombalonga to sneak in between two defenders and head home from close range.
Ipswich started brighter in the second half although the best early chance saw Forest skipper Henri Lansbury testing the diving Bialkowski from the edge of the area.
Ipswich almost pulled a goal back 10 minutes after the restart when Tom Lawrence's powerful low cross was turned back into the danger area by Stojkovic but the ball was hacked clear as McGoldrick waited to pounce on the rebound.
The points should have been made safe in the 64th minute when Eric Lichaj burst into the box and while his dangerous cross was partially blocked by Christophe Berra, Kasami smashed a 15-yard shot against the outside of the post.
At the other end, Ipswich had possession but lacked the guile to break down a sea of defensive red shirts.
Lawrence fired wide after drifting in from the left wing before sub Luke Varney could only brush a header at Stojkovic.
Forest always looked dangerous on the counter attack and Apostolos Vellios almost added a third when Luke Chambers' poor header landed at the striker's feet but his shot was saved by Bialkowski at the second attempt.
Source : PA
Source: PA