Keinan Davis helped Nottingham Forest boost their play-off record when he scored twice in a 4-0 win over Reading, who are facing a battle at the bottom of the Sky Bet Championship table.
Davis scored his first goal after just 17 seconds – arguably the second fastest in Forest’s history – before adding a spectacular second to make it 2-0.
Steve Cooper’s side took three points as Ryan Yates scored his fourth goal in six games, before substitute Sam Surridge rounded things up.
The only concern for Cooper will be injuries to Max Lowe and Steve Cook, who limped late in the game.
Paul Ince’s Reading team were more dominant in the first half but fell behind in the second, as they suffered their third consecutive defeat.
Forest could hardly have had a better start, with Davis’ thunderous strike early in the game.
Joe Worrall picks Djed Spence in the acre space to the right and he delivers a perfect ball an inch into the center, where Davis touches and spins in one motion, before sending the ball home.
The clock was only 17 seconds, three seconds behind Jack Lester, who scored in 14 seconds against Norwich in March 2000.
Jungle goalkeeper Ethan Horvath had to make an impressive, sober save to deny Michael Morrison from close range.
And Reading should have leveled just before half-time after a superb goal by Tom Ince, who darted into space on the left before delivering a perfect cross to the far post, where Josh Laurent headed in. bravely go in the wrong direction of the vertical pole.
Forest saw Cook hit a spectacular volley over the bar early in the second half, while Scott McKenna was inches away to connect with another superb James Garner free-kick.
Royals keeper Luke Southwood brilliantly hit a cross from Spence, but Davis couldn’t save it as Forest made it 2-0 in the 62nd minute.
Worrall gave him the ball 30 yards from goal and the massive striker turned brilliantly to lose his mark before rampaging towards goal and unleashing a precise, unstoppable finish. From the edge of the penalty area, the ball narrowly missed the post.
Forest certainly had the point in the 75th minute when they scored a spectacular third. Spence landed on the right before passing it to Yates 20 yards from goal, from where he hit a shot deep into the bottom corner of the goal.
And the score was 4-0 five minutes after the two substitutes combined, with Xande Silva’s pass giving Surridge confidence to sweep the house.
