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NOTTINGHAM FOREST HISTORY
13 December, 1987

Nigel Clough 4-min hat-trick sinks QPR

On this day in 1987 Nigel Clough scores a late hat-trick burst as Forest beat Queens Park Rangers 4-0.

Player legacies

Individual milestone
Hat-trick hero Nigel Clough, pictured 2009.
Hat-trick hero Nigel Clough, pictured 2009. Image: Chris Barnes / CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Nigel Clough turned a comfortable Forest win into a memorable personal landmark with a rapid late hat-trick against Queens Park Rangers.

The First Division match at the City Ground was already moving Forest’s way before Clough took control of the closing stages. Tommy Gaynor had opened the scoring, giving Brian Clough’s side the platform for a strong home result against QPR.

Hat-trick hero Nigel Clough, pictured 2009.
Hat-trick hero Nigel Clough, pictured 2009. Image: Chris Barnes / CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Then Nigel Clough produced the burst that gave the match its place in club memory. He scored in the 81st, 83rd and 85th minutes, with the final goal coming from the penalty spot, turning a controlled lead into a 4-0 Forest win.

The performance fitted a season in which Clough became Forest’s leading scorer with 22 goals in all competitions, including 19 in the First Division. It was also one of only two competitive hat-tricks he scored for Forest, the other coming in a League Cup defeat at Coventry City in 1990.

For supporters, the afternoon belongs to that late surge: three Clough goals in four minutes, one player taking over the closing stages, and a comfortable win transformed into a standout City Ground memory.

Sources

11v11; Nottingham Forest season records

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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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Nottingham Forest 17:30 Manchester City
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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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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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Chelsea 15:00 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 20:00 Newcastle
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Nottingham Forest 15:00 Ipswich
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Coventry 16:00 Nottingham Forest
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Player legacies
1987
Nigel Clough 4-min hat-trick sinks QPR

Nigel Clough turned a comfortable Forest win into a memorable personal landmark with a rapid late hat-trick against Queens Park Rangers. The First Division…

Player legacies