Fulham needed a controversial penalty to claim three points at the City Ground as Mexican striker Raul Jimenez scored for the third consecutive match to secure a 1-0 victory and inflict a first defeat of the season on Nottingham Forest.
On the face of it this was what neutrals might call a dead rubber fixture, but tell that to those in attendance as both Nottingham Forest and Fulham arrived at the City Ground above Man United and Spurs in the Premier League standings and each boasting ambitions to put early pressure on those above them in the chase for European football.