Gray, Walsh & Ward sink Palace 3-0
On this day in Nottingham Forest history in 1980 Forest beat Crystal Palace 3–0 at the City Ground.
Forest gave the City Ground a clear First Division win by beating Crystal Palace 3–0 on a day when three different scorers made the difference.
The first half stayed goalless, but Frank Gray broke the match open soon after the restart from the penalty spot in the 47th minute. Colin Walsh added the second midway through the half, and Peter Ward finished the scoring in the 78th minute.
For Brian Clough’s side, the performance was clinical and controlled rather than spectacular. Forest had enough experience in the team to keep Palace at arm’s length, then enough cutting edge after half-time to turn the pressure into a proper home win.
The 3–0 scoreline gave supporters a straightforward afternoon to enjoy at a point when the club was trying to stay competitive in the First Division after its extraordinary European years. It was not one of the famous trophy nights, but it was exactly the kind of firm league victory that kept standards high.
Sources
11v11; TheCityGround.com
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