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19 August, 1995

Roy double wins Saints thriller

On this day in 1995 Forest win a seven-goal Premier League opener at Southampton.

Iconic match memories

Comeback or dramatic turnaround
Bryan Roy, former Forest player.
Bryan Roy, former Forest player. Image: Rob Croes / Anefo, via Wikimedia Commons

Nottingham Forest opened the 1995-96 Premier League season with a wild 4-3 win away to Southampton at The Dell.

It was the kind of opening-day match that immediately felt alive. Forest had finished third the previous season and were beginning another campaign with confidence, but Southampton and Matt Le Tissier made the afternoon anything but straightforward.

Bryan Roy, former Forest player.
Bryan Roy, former Forest player. Image: Rob Croes / Anefo, via Wikimedia Commons

Colin Cooper scored with a direct free-kick before Le Tissier equalised from the penalty spot. Ian Woan then restored Forest’s lead with a long-range strike, and Bryan Roy scored from an Ian Woan pass to make it 3-1 before half-time.

Le Tissier pulled Southampton back to 3-2 with another penalty, but Roy scored again from another Woan pass to give Forest a 4-2 lead. Le Tissier completed his hat-trick with a direct free-kick, leaving Forest to see out a seven-goal match that never felt fully settled.

Roy’s double gave the result its Forest focus. The Dutch forward had arrived the previous year and quickly became a key attacking figure, and this opening-day performance showed again how dangerous Forest could be when Woan, Roy and the rest of the forward line clicked.

Sources

11v11; StatBunker; London Hearts; Transfermarkt

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Nottingham Forest 0–1 Coventry
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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
23
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
13
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