Sunderland 0-1 Nottingham Forest
- Published
Daryl Murphy (left) has scored four goals in seven Championship appearances since joining Forest in the summer
Daryl Murphy's late goal gave Nottingham Forest a fourth win in seven league games and piled more pressure on Sunderland boss Simon Grayson.
The Black Cats created the better openings in a game of few chances.
But Forest stood firm in defence to inflict a fourth defeat in seven league matches on their hosts.
Summer signing Murphy grabbed his fourth goal of the season, firing the ball into the bottom corner after Sunderland gave the ball away cheaply.
The hosts created the better chances throughout, with the lively Lewis Grabban and Callum McManaman their main threat.
Grabban, who was later taken off injured, fired one long-range effort over while Forest centre-back Matt Mills twice made decisive blocks from McManaman and George Honeyman before the break.
Both sides struggled to create much after the interval, but Forest began to threaten in the closing stages.
Substitute Jason Cummings had a shot blocked, Tendayi Darikwa saw an effort saved by Robin Ruiter and Barrie McKay also went close after Murphy's strike, which ended a run of back-to-back league defeats for the Reds.
Sunderland boss Simon Grayson:
"It's probably the most frustrating result we've had because we didn't deserve to lose that game, without a shadow of a doubt.
"I thought the players responded from Saturday and showed a lot of bravery with and without the ball, which we asked them to do.
"They responded in a confident manner from the weekend's result, and it's a big kick in the teeth when you lose a game like that because we didn't deserve that. It happened though."
Nottingham Forest manager Mark Warburton:
"It was a very good win for us. There's no doubt that both teams were on the back of a bad result, and I thought both teams played with a bit of fear.
"We thought Sunderland would come out hard and fast, and they did, but we dealt with that. We had to defend our goal with a passion, and then we were gradually able to play a bit more ourselves.
"We had to work very hard, and credit to the lads for doing that. We defended our goal with a real desire and sometimes you have to do the ugly side of the game well before you can play."