Fulham 3-2 Nottingham Forest
Kit Symons was delighted to see Ross McCormack bag a first-half hat-trick last night as Fulham beat Nottingham Forest 3-2 at Craven Cottage.
The triple was the Scottish striker’s first for the Cottagers since joining from Leeds United for £11m in the summer and took his goal tally to 10 in 31 games.
“First half our overall play was exceptional and Ross was excellent obviously,” said Symons.
“He took his goals really, really well. The first two were sublime finishes. The third one he got a little bit of luck maybe, but he deserves that.
“It’s nice to see Ross scoring goals. He’s been excellent for us. His overall contribution to the team has never been in doubt with me. I’m very pleased for him.”
McCormack’s three goals in the first half were reward for Fulham’s dominance, but Henri Lansbury’s second-half double for Forest made the game tighter than it should have been.
“The one disappointment in the first half was that we only scored the three,” added Symons.
“We should have scored more for our dominance and we gave them a lifeline with a stupid free-kick we gave away, which we’ve done too many times this season and they prove costly.
“The one pleasing thing in the second half was that we were resolute. We stuck together and defended well. That was encouraging.
“Sometimes the ones where you have to dig in and scrap and fight to get the win can be those results that give you a lot of confidence.”
The win was Fulham’s second in a row following Saturday’s 2-1 defeat of Reading and lifted the Cottagers to 14th, level on points with Forest and 10 points from the play-offs.
