Nottingham Forest 1-2 Blackburn Rovers: Darragh Lenihan goal leaves Forest pointless

Daniel Ayala headed in Blackburn's first goal shortly after the break

Darragh Lenihan headed in a late winner for Blackburn Rovers at Nottingham Forest to leave Chris Hughton's side without a Championship point this season.

The defender pounced after his initial effort had been cleared off the line following a mistake from Forest goalkeeper Brice Samba, and looped the rebound in.

Philip Zinckernagel thought he had earned the hosts a point at the City Ground when his powerful left-foot shot from outside the box beat Thomas Kaminski at the near post.

Daniel Ayala's header from Harry Pickering's free-kick had set Rovers on their way early in the second half, while Forest's Jordan Gabriel was sent off in the 90th minute for a second yellow card.

Gabriel's robust challenge on Harry Chapman came at the end of another disappointing display from Forest, who have suffered three consecutive 2-1 league losses and were booed off at full-time.

Blackburn are now one of six sides with seven points from their opening three matches and were good value for their victory.

They created the better chances, despite Forest having more possession, with John Buckley denied by Samba in each half and Tyrhys Dolan's skimming effort also well saved.

Forest, who only scored 37 times in the Championship last season, again look short of attacking quality and it was only Watford loanee Zinckernagel's piece of quality which gave them a lifeline.

However, that was undone when Samba flapped at a cross and Gabriel cleared off the line, with Lenihan on hand to earn three points for Tony Mowbray's men.

Forest next face a trip to in-form Stoke on Saturday, while Blackburn host table-topping West Brom.

Nottingham Forest manager Chris Hughton told BBC Radio Nottingham:

"At the moment we're conceding too many goals and that being the case we're finding it difficult to win matches.

"It's a younger group [of players] than we've had for some time and it's good for their development but we need that knowhow in this division because it's a tough division.

"There's no doubt the squad needs strengthening, and with two or three players out it leaves us light."

Blackburn head coach Tony Mowbray told BBC Radio Lancashire:

"It's good to win on the road in the Championship, it's very difficult to do.

"You could feel the crowd here, the expectancy of them, but tonight they came up against a side who were fully committed, 100% at it all over the pitch, and we got our rewards for a huge effort.

"We have a big heart and a good group who are fighting hard for each other at the moment."