James Garner now has three goal contributions in as many Forest matches

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Manchester United loanee James Garner continued his rich vein of form by scoring Nottingham Forest’s opening goal in the 2-0 win at Blackburn Rovers.

Steve Cooper’s side backed up their 4-1 FA Cup win against Leicester with a big win at Ewood Park which moved Forest into the play-off places.

After being played in on goal by Keinan Davis, Garner put a Rovers defender on their backside with a clever turn which opened up the goalscoring chance.

The midfielder then showed great composure to slot the ball into the bottom corner.

Forest’s number 37 was millimetres away from grabbing a second when Tony Mowbray’s side were down to ten men, but Garner couldn’t stretch far enough.

With licence to roam forward in his advanced midfielder role, Garner registered four key passes from his 43 touches, which was more chances created than any other player on the pitch, according to WhoScored.

The 20-year-old also successfully completed three of his attempted four dribbles. He also claimed one interception and won three duels.

Speaking about Garner’s goal, Forest boss Cooper told NottinghamshireLive: “Jim did so well in opening up the goal with a little bit of composure and a great finish.”

The local paper gave the England under-21 international an 8/10 rating for his performance and the report read: “Talk about nerves of steel. Incredible composure to net his second of the season. Some lovely passes, too. Just a shame he picked up a careless booking.”

After bagging his second Championship goal of the season, Garner has now directly been involved in a Forest goal in each of his last three matches.

James Garner backed up his assists against Cardiff and Leicester with the crucial opening goal against fellow promotion chasers Blackburn.

The midfielder, who has been compared to David Beckham, will be looking to continue his rich vein of impressive form in Saturday’s home clash against Stoke City.

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