Nottingham Forest 3-1 Birmingham City

Nicklas Bendtner was treated for several minutes before being taken from the field on a stretcher

Nottingham Forest beat Birmingham but their 3-1 win was marred by an injury suffered by striker Nicklas Bendtner.

Bendtner required oxygen as he was carried off the field on a stretcher, having landed awkwardly in a collision with Blues defender Michael Morrison.

The Dane had set up Eric Lichaj to open the scoring and Apostolos Vellios made it 2-0 from Henri Lansbury's cross.

Lukas Jutkiewicz headed a goal back for Blues but Hildeberto Pereira finished Ben Osborn's low pass to seal victory.

A Birmingham win could have taken Gary Rowett's side as high as second in the table, but their first away loss of the league campaign means they may be outside the top six by the time they host Rotherham on Tuesday.

Lichaj's powerful angled shot, the defender's first goal for almost a year, lit up a flat first half at the City Ground.

The only other talking point before the interval was Lansbury's disallowed free-kick, with referee Jeremy Simpson initially awarding a goal and then reversing his decision following consultation with his assistant.

Forest's win came hours after owner Fawaz Al Hasawi announced he is close to agreeing a deal to sell the club.

Al Hasawi, who took control of Forest in 2012, would not reveal the identity of the buyers but BBC Sport understands that a United States consortium, led by millionaire John Jay Moores, is on the verge of securing a £50m deal.

Head coach Philippe Montanier told BBC Radio Nottingham: "I enjoyed the victory. We've worked hard during the international break and we applied what we worked on during that period.

"Bendtner's injury is a bad point of this evening. We don't know how serious it is. I hope it is not very serious.

"When you go off on a stretcher, you always worry. We hope to have more news on Saturday."

Birmingham manager Gary Rowett told BBC WM: "We weren't anywhere near the standards we've set so far this season, certainly in the first half. We were a little bit too predictable.

"We wanted to do much better in the second half and there was a real determination to do that. We ended up at 2-1 and we looked as though we had put them under some real pressure.

"I wasn't overly happy with one or two decisions, but I thought Forest deserved it. They showed more energy and desire."

• Line-ups
• Match Stats
• Live Text

Line-ups

Nottm Forest

• 38Stojkovic
• 2Lichaj
• 5MillsBooked at 66mins
• 27Perquis
• 6TraoreSubstituted forPereiraat 76'minutesBooked at 90mins
• 24Vaughan
• 8Cohen
• 18CarayolSubstituted forLamat 82'minutes
• 10Lansbury
• 11Osborn
• 14BendtnerSubstituted forVelliosat 57'minutes

Substitutes

• 12Dumitru
• 17Pereira
• 22Kasami
• 28Lam
• 30Henderson
• 37Grant
• 39Vellios

Birmingham

• 1Legzdins
• 5Shotton
• 28Morrison
• 4RobinsonBooked at 78mins
• 3GroundsBooked at 20mins
• 26DavisBooked at 86minsSubstituted forBrownat 87'minutes
• 8Gleeson
• 11Cotterill
• 14AdamsSubstituted forFabbriniat 64'minutes
• 19MaghomaSubstituted forDonaldsonat 70'minutes
• 15Jutkiewicz

Substitutes

• 6Kieftenbeld
• 9Donaldson
• 10Fabbrini
• 12Wiggins
• 18Brown
• 20Stewart
• 29Kuszczak

Referee:

Jeremy Simpson

Attendance:

19,208

Match Stats

Home TeamNottm ForestAway TeamBirmingham

Possession

Home49%

Away51%

Shots

Home11

Away14

Shots on Target

Home6

Away5

Corners

Home3

Away4

Fouls

Home14

Away20

Live Text

Posted at

Match ends, Nottingham Forest 3, Birmingham City 1.

Full Time

Posted at 90'+9'

Second Half ends, Nottingham Forest 3, Birmingham City 1.

Posted at 90'+7'

Henri Lansbury (Nottingham Forest) wins a free kick on the left wing.

Posted at 90'+7'

Foul by Stephen Gleeson (Birmingham City).

Posted at 90'+6'

Foul by Ryan Shotton (Birmingham City).

Posted at 90'+6'

Eric Lichaj (Nottingham Forest) wins a free kick on the left wing.

Posted at 90'+5'

Foul by Lukas Jutkiewicz (Birmingham City).

Posted at 90'+5'

Thomas Lam (Nottingham Forest) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

Posted at 90'+5'

Attempt saved. David Cotterill (Birmingham City) right footed shot from a difficult angle and long range on the left is saved in the top centre of the goal.

Booking

Posted at 90'+5'

Hildeberto Pereira (Nottingham Forest) is shown the yellow card.

Posted at 90'+4'

Diego Fabbrini (Birmingham City) wins a free kick on the left wing.

Posted at 90'+4'

Foul by Hildeberto Pereira (Nottingham Forest).

Posted at 90'+4'

Diego Fabbrini (Birmingham City) wins a free kick on the left wing.

Posted at 90'+4'

Foul by Hildeberto Pereira (Nottingham Forest).

Posted at 90'+3'

Attempt missed. Henri Lansbury (Nottingham Forest) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the left. Assisted by Ben Osborn.

Posted at 90'+2'

Attempt missed. Clayton Donaldson (Birmingham City) right footed shot from outside the box is too high. Assisted by Reece Brown.

Posted at 90'+1'

Foul by Ryan Shotton (Birmingham City).

Posted at 90'+1'

Ben Osborn (Nottingham Forest) wins a free kick on the left wing.

Posted at 90'

Foul by Reece Brown (Birmingham City).

Posted at 90'

Chris Cohen (Nottingham Forest) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

Substitution

Posted at 87'

Substitution, Birmingham City. Reece Brown replaces David Davis.

Booking

Posted at 86'

David Davis (Birmingham City) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.

Posted at 86'

Foul by David Davis (Birmingham City).

Posted at 86'

Eric Lichaj (Nottingham Forest) wins a free kick on the left wing.

Posted at 85'

Foul by Ryan Shotton (Birmingham City).

Posted at 85'

Chris Cohen (Nottingham Forest) wins a free kick on the left wing.

Goal!

Posted at 83'

Goal! Nottingham Forest 3, Birmingham City 1. Hildeberto Pereira (Nottingham Forest) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Ben Osborn with a cross.

Substitution

Posted at 82'

Substitution, Nottingham Forest. Thomas Lam replaces Mustapha Carayol.

Posted at 81'

Foul by Ryan Shotton (Birmingham City).

Posted at 81'

Chris Cohen (Nottingham Forest) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

Posted at 79'

Foul by Clayton Donaldson (Birmingham City).

Posted at 79'

Vladimir Stojkovic (Nottingham Forest) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

Booking

Posted at 78'

Paul Robinson (Birmingham City) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.

Posted at 78'

Foul by Paul Robinson (Birmingham City).

Posted at 78'

Mustapha Carayol (Nottingham Forest) wins a free kick on the right wing.

Substitution

Posted at 76'

Substitution, Nottingham Forest. Hildeberto Pereira replaces Armand Traore.

Posted at 76'

Attempt missed. Michael Morrison (Birmingham City) header from the centre of the box is too high. Assisted by Lukas Jutkiewicz with a headed pass.

Posted at 75'

Corner, Birmingham City. Conceded by Vladimir Stojkovic.

Posted at 75'

Attempt saved. Clayton Donaldson (Birmingham City) right footed shot from a difficult angle on the right is saved in the bottom left corner.

Posted at 75'

Diego Fabbrini (Birmingham City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

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