Promotion dream is right up for Grabs
LEWIS GRABBAN’S £6million summer switch from Bournemouth to Forest is proving a brilliant piece of business after he racked up another deadly double.
The striker’s first-half finishes gave him a staggering 15 goals in his last 15 appearances and kept Aitor Karanka’s men firmly in the promotion race.
Grabban is in the form of his life and was far too hot for Ipswich, who remain bottom of the Championship after being outclassed from start to finish.
Forest are now unbeaten in seven games and moved up to fifth.
Boss Karanka, who saw veteran skipper Michael Dawson forced off with a hamstring injury, said: “Lewis is exactly the kind of character that I like because he always wants to improve.
“He demands more of himself every time he plays and that is a great help to the rest of his team-mates.
“This group of players deserve a lot of credit because they’ve been excellent since the season started.”
After their dramatic 5-5 draw at Aston Villa in midweek, a thriller which saw Grabban score twice, this was a far more routine affair for Forest.
Grabban, confidence pumping through his veins, pounced for a ninth-minute opener when Ipswich goalkeeper Bartosz Bialkowski could only parry Tendayi Darikwa’s long-range piledriver.
Bearded goal-poacher Grabban tucked away the rebound and in the 38th minute tapped home for his fourth league double of an increasingly profitable campaign.
Ipswich look dead and buried before the Christmas decorations even go up.
Paul Lambert is yet to win a game since arriving at Portman Road in October.
The Scot, who handed a full debut to striker Jack Lankester, said: “We need some help in January but you never ever give up.
“There’s a hell of a long way to go and we’ll be in the fight to stay up. We’ll get better and we are getting better.”
THEY scored two goals of very different quality but Palace boss Roy Hodgson admits he will dream about James McArthur’s scruffy opener for years.
Because it meant his team could finally lift the burden of being the Premier League’s worst home side off their shoulders.
McArthur’s hopeful 16th-minute cross somehow curled into Burnley’s goal and lit the touchpaper for Palace’s first home victory of the season.
Then, if Hodgson wanted something special to round off his day, Andros Townsend supplied it with a stunning 20-yard left-footed thunderbolt that whistled past poor old Joe Hart – who despite an early lapse was enjoying a fine afternoon.
Hodgson said: “I have seen those goals go in before but this was special.
“I am sure only an old curmudgeon will deny us this moment. I was getting concerned about the result because of the chances we have had and they didn’t go in.
“This was an important game that we needed to win, even if it was by hook or by crook.
“But, as it turned out, we didn’t get the three points that way because we were clearly the better side.
“As for Andros’s goal, I have seen him do that so many times so it was not a surprise.
“We have seen that move and shot fail to succeed many times before because the ball has either gone wide or over the crossbar or the goalkeeper has made an excellent save but today the shot was so