Nottingham Forest 2-0 Coventry City: Forest stretch unbeaten run to nine games
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Brennan Johnson has scored 12 goals in his past 17 Championship games for Forest
Nottingham Forest kept their Championship play-off bid on course with victory against Coventry City.
Goals from Brennan Johnson, his 15th of the season, and James Garner secured the win at the City Ground.
A third successive success moves Forest up to fifth in the table with eight matches remaining, and Steve Cooper's side have two games in hand on most of their rivals.
Defeat for the Sky Blues, who drop to 12th, all but ends their promotion hopes as they are now eight points below the play-offs with six games left.
Coventry, though, more than matched their opponents and Callum O'Hare had a chance to bring them back into the game with 15 minutes left, but he could not beat Brice Samba when played through by Gustavo Hamer.
Another chance, at 1-0, saw O'Hare put through Viktor Gyokeres but the Swede fired over.
Defeat means the Sky Blues have now taken only six points from their past eight games.
Forest's form has been of total contrast and they enter the final month of the season having not lost in the league since the end of January.
Both their goals were smartly worked, first as Jack Colback crossed from the left in the 25th minute and Johnson finished cleverly, steering the ball around both goalkeeper and post.
Keinan Davis jinked into space in the 61st minute and slid a ball into the area for Garner to smash home left-footed.
Play was stopped briefly for a home supporter who was taken ill, but it did not throw Forest off their stride, with Ryan Yates hitting the bar in stoppage time.
Nottingham Forest head coach Steve Cooper told BBC Radio Nottingham:
"It was a tough game and a brilliant result. Tactically they test you and I have a lot of respect for Coventry.
"We turned the ball over too much in the first half and that cost us fluidity.
"Second half, they advanced up the pitch and that suited us and we could have gone on and got two or three more."
Coventry City manager Mark Robins told BBC CWR:
"I thought we played really well but we just didn't have that final touch, which we've said quite often.
"Forest are a really good side. They put you under pressure and if you don't take your chances, you can't put them under pressure, they can take a deep breath and go again.
"The atmosphere was brilliant, it was an enjoyable game for all the right reasons, obviously other than we didn't take our chances."