Nottingham Forest recorded a remarkable East Midlands derby win over rivals Leicester City, with striker Robert Earnshaw bagging a hat-trick on route to a crushing 5-1 win.
The Welsh international was in unstoppable form, and netted Forest's opener after just 12 minutes.
Linking up well with strike partner Dexter Blackstock, the former Norwich man calmly slotted past visitors keeper Chris Weale before celebrating with his trademark somersault in front of the Trent End.
The Reds doubled their lead soon after. Chris Cohen's driven shot went through a melee of players before reaching Earnshaw who scored his second with a deft chip into the net. Cue somersault celebration again.
Forest were rampant and Leicester manager Nigel Pearson was clearly lost in what to do. He made two substitutes in the first half, including top scorer Matty Fryatt, to try and change his team's luck, but to no avail.
Forest started the second half in the same fashion as the first and five minutes into the half Earnshaw had completed his hat-trick.
Picking up a soft backpass by Jack Hobbs, Earnie ran the ball past the unimpressive Wayne Brown and finished emphatically into the top corner of Weale's goal.
Earnshaw had dedicated his second somersault celebration to the 2nd battalion Mercian regiment who were back from serving in Afghanistan, but this time the somersault was saved for the delirious Forest fans sat in the A block.
Paul Anderson won a personal battle by scoring past the hometown club, and beating the banter of his mates.
The Welsh international was in unstoppable form, and netted Forest's opener after just 12 minutes.
Linking up well with strike partner Dexter Blackstock, the former Norwich man calmly slotted past visitors keeper Chris Weale before celebrating with his trademark somersault in front of the Trent End.
The Reds doubled their lead soon after. Chris Cohen's driven shot went through a melee of players before reaching Earnshaw who scored his second with a deft chip into the net. Cue somersault celebration again.
Forest were rampant and Leicester manager Nigel Pearson was clearly lost in what to do. He made two substitutes in the first half, including top scorer Matty Fryatt, to try and change his team's luck, but to no avail.
Forest started the second half in the same fashion as the first and five minutes into the half Earnshaw had completed his hat-trick.
Picking up a soft backpass by Jack Hobbs, Earnie ran the ball past the unimpressive Wayne Brown and finished emphatically into the top corner of Weale's goal.
Earnshaw had dedicated his second somersault celebration to the 2nd battalion Mercian regiment who were back from serving in Afghanistan, but this time the somersault was saved for the delirious Forest fans sat in the A block.
Paul Anderson won a personal battle by scoring past the hometown club, and beating the banter of his mates.
Forest were in cruise control, and looked dangerous every time they attacked. Yet it was the visitors who scored the next goal. A soft penalty was awarded for handball against Wes Morgan, but in truth there was little chance of the big centre half being able to get out of the way.
Many Reds fans believed the decision was a chance for referee Mike Russell to 'even' up the game, after previously awarding a penalty and then changing his mind against the visitors.
Martyn Waghorn converted the spot kick in off the underside of the bar, but that was as good as it got for the Foxes.
Substitute Dele Adebola put the game beyond doubt by following up fellow substitute Garath Mcleary's powerful drive, to make the scoreline look embarrassing on our East Midlands rivals.
This was one of Forest's best performances of the season, and saw the hosts leap frog their opponents into 3rd place in the table.
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