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New Years Eve 1977 Bristol City 1 Forest 3

Forest ended 1977 with another away game, at Bristol City. This was their third game of four in seven days. Three days after a trip to the most north-eastern club in the first division (Newcastle United), the fixtures placed Forest at the most south-western club.

Forest took it in their stride though and won away again, their fourth away win on the trot, to stay five points clear at the top of the first division. This also completed Forest's second double of the season - out of two teams we'd played home and away: We beat Bristol City 1-0 in our first home game of the season, and we'd beaten Manchester United 2-1 at home and 4-0 away.

Playing four games in seven days must have taken some toll on the players forty years ago - as well as fans - and trying to recall my memoirs of them 40 years after the event is certainly taking some toll on me now.

So, as this was the fourth of seven games that I missed that season, please forgive me for a relatively perfunctory account here.

Longest journey in the first division 1977-78

Bristol City History Reminder

As reported early in the season when we beat Bristol City 1-0 in a very uneventful game at the City Ground, Bristol City were one of the few First Division teams in 1977-78 against which Forest could honestly claim to have a more impressive historical record. They finished above us only 14 out of our 75 seasons in the league.

Ashton Gate

I missed this game - just too far to go on New Year's Eve, I thought. And I had been there before a year and a half earlier to watch Forest beat them 2-0 in a second division match with Terry Curran and JohnO'Hare getting the goals in front of a crowd of around 15,000.

We'd been driven there by John Amos, a mad Beatles and Forest fan.

Forest had played well that season but, of course, it would be another season before we'd get promotion.


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Lovely Location












Teams

Bristol City
1 John Shaw, 2 Gerry Sweeney, 3 Geoff Merrick, 4 Gerry Gow, 5 Gary Collier, 6 Norman Hunter, 7 Trevor Tainton, 8 Tom Ritchie, 9 Joe Royle, 10 Don Gillies, 11 James Mann.
Goals: Kevin Mabbutt 1.

Substitutions: Kevin Mabbutt (12) came on for Don Gillies(10).

Nottingham Forest
1 Peter Shilton, 2 Viv Anderson, 3 Colin Barrett, 4 John McGovern, 5 David Needham, 6 Kenny Burns, 7 Martin O'Neill, 8 Archie Gemmill, 9 Peter Withe, 10 Tony Woodcock, 11 John Robertson.
Goals : David Needham 1, Martin O'Neill 1, Tony Woodcock 1.

Attendance: 31,990

The Game

The match was played in front of Bristol City's best crowd of the season.

The first goal came in the 11th minute when a Peter Withe free kick was headed in by David Needham, his second goal in successive games, and 5th all season as he scored three for QPR.

Tony Woodcock added a second in the 21st minute, tapping in from the rebound off the bar from a Gemmill shot. O'Neill got the 3rd in the 58th minute after which Forest took their foot off the peddle.

Bristol City brought on substitute Kevin Mabbutt for Don Gillies and he scored in the 82nd minute.

I didn't go to this match but I can imagine the Forest fans singing "Dicks Out!" at this point. Such is the whit of football fans, I'm sure they wouldn't have missed the opportunity to pile a bit more pressure on the Bristol City manager.

So, Forest's five point lead at the top was maintained.

Other Games

Everton and Liverpool win again

5 pt lead maintained
Forest - the in form team

Woodcock closing on Withe

So ended 1977. What a year for Forest! There was no seasonal break though. In just two days time, Forest faced another big match - another top-of-the-table clash v Everton at the City Ground.

Match Programme















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