Nottingham Forest striker Jamie Ward stuck the knife into Middlesbrough’s promotion bid to extend the Reds’ unbeaten run to 12 matches.
The ex-Derby County man slotted home from the edge of the penalty area after Ben Osborn’s neat cross to hand the traveling East Midlands club their first win on the road since September.
Dougie Freedman has been given time to get things right at the City Ground after an indifferent start to the season and the club are now reaping the rewards for such loyalty.
It was Middlesbrough’s second odd-goal reverse in succession following last week’s 1-0 defeat at Bristol City - two results which intensifies the promotion race even further.
Forest will have the chance to further close the gap on the top six when Queens Park Rangers visit the City Ground on Tuesday night.
FootballLeagueWorld writer Lee Clarke takes a look at three things we learned from the 1-0 away win at the Riverside Stadium...
1) Jamie Ward is starting to set Forest on fire
Last weekend when Forest thumped Bolton Wanderers 3-0 at the City Ground, Ward was quite simply unplayable.
He proved again at the Riverside Stadium that when he is in the mood, he can be a handful for even the strongest defences in the league.
The home side had not conceded a goal at home for nine games on the spin before Forest arrived, but after giving Osborn too much time on the left hand side, he found Ward who duly obliged.
Forest fans will be hoping that Ward and Osborn can continue to work in unison as the Reds look to climb even higher in the league.
2) The Championship continues to be as unpredictable as ever
Middlesbrough were considered by some as the home bankers for Saturday’s game at home to a Forest side who, although in decent form, have drawn a lot of games.
The fact that Forest were able to go to the Riverside Stadium and claim a first away win since September offers the notion that anyone really can beat any team in this crazy league.
Boro will still be up towards the top two come the end of this season, but the sooner they stop taking teams for granted the better. This is arguably what they did yesterday.
3) Dougie Freedman is actually doing alright, isn’t he?
Earlier in the season, the Forest boss oversaw a run of eight games without a win which saw some supporters call for his head.
Credit where it is due though, Freedman is slowly turning the doubters round and a win at the table toppers was just the tonic for the Scottish boss.
Freedman has worked shrewdly in the transfer market despite the embargo overhanging the club, and he has also given youth team players the platform to perform in the first-team.
Boro and Forest fans... what did you make of the game? Did Forest deserve the victory? How good was Ward? What went wrong for Middlesbrough? Let us know your thoughts and opinions in the comments below!