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NOTTINGHAM FOREST HISTORY

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NOTTINGHAM FOREST HISTORY
22 August, 1979

O’Neill winner against Stoke

On this day in Nottingham Forest history in 1979 Forest beat Stoke City in their first home league game as European champions.

Eras and timeline markers

Start of a golden era
Match winner Martin O'Neill, pictured 2008.
Match winner Martin O'Neill, pictured 2008. Image: Dagur Brynjólfsson / CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Nottingham Forest’s first home league match as European champions ended with a 1-0 win over Stoke City at the City Ground.

Forest had lifted the European Cup only a few months earlier, and every league fixture now came with the status of a side that had climbed from domestic surprise to continental champion.

Match winner Martin O'Neill, pictured 2008.
Match winner Martin O'Neill, pictured 2008. Image: Dagur Brynjólfsson / CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Martin O’Neill scored the only goal in the 81st minute, giving Brian Clough’s team a narrow First Division victory. It was not a sweeping scoreline, but it suited the pattern Forest often showed during this period: disciplined, controlled and capable of winning tight matches.

The result gave Forest another early league win at the start of the 1979-80 campaign, following victory at Ipswich Town a few days earlier.

The season would go on to bring another European Cup triumph in 1980. The Stoke win was a small early step in that campaign, but it belonged to a period when Forest were still operating at the highest level.

Sources

Footballsite; The City Ground

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Notts County 0–2 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 3–0 Blackburn
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Vitória SC 1–1 Nottingham Forest
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Portimonense 1–2 Nottingham Forest Sporting CP 4–1 Nottingham Forest
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Udinese 1–0 Nottingham Forest Barcelona 1–0 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 2–1 Bayer Leverkusen
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Nottingham Forest 2–0 Stade Brestois 29
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Nottingham Forest 0–1 Leeds
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Nottingham Forest 0–2 Leeds
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Liverpool 2–2 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 0–0 Tottenham
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Aston Villa 1–2 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 0–1 Coventry
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Crystal Palace 14:00 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 16:30 Arsenal
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Ipswich 20:00 Nottingham Forest
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Brentford 15:00 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 17:30 Manchester City
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Bournemouth 15:00 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 20:00 Chelsea
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Hull City 20:00 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 15:00 Brighton
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Sunderland 15:00 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 15:00 Everton
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Manchester United 16:30 Nottingham Forest
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Newcastle 19:30 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 15:00 Fulham
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Nottingham Forest 19:30 Hull City
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Manchester City 15:00 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 15:00 Bournemouth
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Chelsea 15:00 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 15:00 Brentford
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Fulham 20:00 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 15:00 Manchester United
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Everton 15:00 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 20:00 Newcastle
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Tottenham 15:00 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 15:00 Aston Villa
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Leeds 15:00 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 15:00 Liverpool
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Nottingham Forest 15:00 Sunderland
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Brighton 15:00 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 15:00 Crystal Palace
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Arsenal 15:00 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 15:00 Ipswich
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Coventry 16:00 Nottingham Forest
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On this day in …
1979
O’Neill winner against Stoke

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