Nottingham Forest put on a performance that will have tasted sweeter to their fans than the fifth chocolate they enjoyed that morning from their advent calender as the month of December got off to a flyer.

Leicester City fans big day out turned into a living nightmare as their usually reliable defence crumbled under relentless pressure from the home side to earn exiled reds in Leicester and those on the border in places such as Melton Mowbray and Loughborough bragging rights until at least February 27th when the return fixture is played at the Walkers Stadium.

The Reds went into this game on the back of a ten game unbeaten run having run riot in the last of those against an improving Doncaster Rovers side who succombed to a 4-1 defeat. Leicester City sat two points and one place ahead of the men from the City Ground in third surpassing all expectations after last years promotion from League One as champions. The Foxes also came into the game full of confidence having only lost once in their previous nine games against strong promotion candidates West Bromwich Albion, a run that was based upon defensive strengths having only conceded five goals over that period.

As the ground filled up before kick off the sold out atmosphere felt electrically charged and despite many Forest fans claiming that the Leicester City match was just another game to them there was obviously more to it for those sat in the home end than there would be against most teams in the division. Nottingham Forest versus Derby County this is not, but it's local enough just to add a little bit more spice to the game.

Billy Davies had more players fit and available to him than at any other time since he took over the reigns at the City Ground but decided to only make one change from the team that beat Doncaster Rovers a week previous as Chris Cohen returned from suspension to take the place of Gareth McCleary on the wing. Nigel Pearson also made just one change to the side that gained a point on the road against Scunthorpe United bringing former Derby County player Matt Oakley back into the side for Paul Gallagher.

4,134 travelling fans packed out the lower tier of the Bridgford End but whilst they turned up in time for an early kick off it seemed the men they had come to give their vocal support to hadn't.

Almost striaght away Melton Mowbray born Paul Anderson was causing trouble against the side that rejected him as a youngster, a theme that was to run all afternoon as the £250,000 signing from Liverpool put in the performance of a man proving a point to a club that had let him pass on by.

The game came to life though as another two of Forest's summer purchases combined to set up Robert Earnshaw for his first goal on 12 minutes. Chris Gunter charged down the right before playing a ball inside to Earnshaw who stepped over the pass allowing it to run to Dexter Blackstock he then played the ball into the path of the Welshman before he slid it underneath Chris Weale. Blackstock and Anderson then went close to doubling the lead but were denied by saves from Weale before Nigel Pearson decided to make a tactical substitution as early as the 28th minute, bringing on target man Steve Howard.

What happened half and hour into the game after may have been the most memorable moments of the match as football took secondry place for a few moments and all sides of the City Ground gave a standing ovation to members of the Second Battalion of the Mercian Regiment who were taking their seats in the lower Brian Clough stand.

Shortly after taking their seats the returning soldiers were treated to a goal as Earnshaw doubled his and Nottingham Forest's tally chipping over Weale from close range following Chris Cohen's shot being deflected into his path. This prompted Nigel Pearson into another tacitcal replacement before half time. Matty Fryatt, previously linked with Forest when he was scoring goals for Walsall was replaced by Lloyd Dyer to the confusion of the majority who watched Leicester City's top scorer walk off after just 35 minutes played and it proved the second substitution to make no impact on the game.

Leicester City came out a little more positively at the start of the second half and were only denied a route back into the game by an excellently timed tackle from Kelvin Wilson in his own penalty area before the Foxes were soon deflated once more. A poor back pass from Bruno Berner to Wayne Brown was intercepted by Earnshaw who then ran at the already tired looking Brown before finsihing clinically with his left foot to seal a memorable hattrick.

On 50 minutes Leicester were awarded a penalty before the referee changed his mind and gave the visitors a free kick outside the area despite a trip from Kelvin Wilson on Martyn Waghorn being cleary within the penalty area. Their sense of injustice was heightened as Forest extended their lead four minutes after, Blackstock rolling the ball into the path of Anderson who hit a low, powerful and curling shot into the far bottom corner from left edge of the penalty area, a goal that will probably mean more to him than any other he has scored in his short career so far.

The travelling fans were given a glimmer of hope as the Foxes were awarded a penalty, Wes Morgan harshly being adjuged to have handled in the area but Waghorn stepped up to fire in off the underside of the bar before bizarrely turning to the Trent End with his finger over the lips. Being "only" 4-1 up was hardly likely to silence the home crowd who instead willed another goal in as two substitutes combined. Gareth McCleary shot from range and saw his effort palmed into the path of onrushing Dele Adebola by Weale for the big Nigerian to complete the rout and send Nottingham Forest leapfrogging their way over Leicester City into third place.

Nottingham Forest: Camp, Gunter, Morgan, Wilson, Shorey, Anderson (McCleary 71), McKenna (C), Majewski (Tyson 61), Cohen, Earnshaw, Blackstock (Adebola 67)
Unused Subs: Smith, Chambers, McGugan, McGoldrick,
Goals: Earnshaw (12, 32, 49) Anderson (53) Adebola (76)

Leicester City: Weale, Neilson (Morrison 63), Brown, Berner, Hobbs, Oakley, King, Wellens, Fryatt (Dyer 36), Waghorn, Kermorgant (Howard 28)
Unused Subs: McGivern, Logan, N'Guessan, Gallagher
Goals: Waghorn (65 Pen)

Attendance: 28,626

Away Fans: 4,134

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