Stoke City 2-3 Nottingham Forest: Visitors go top after comeback victory at winless Potters

Nottingham Forest went top of the Championship for the first time in five years with a comeback victory that left Stoke still waiting for their first league win of the season.

Stoke led with Lee Gregory’s clean strike from 12 yards, but that was cancelled out when Joe Lolley punished a mistake from home goalkeeper Jack Butland.

Sammy Ameobi’s towering header from Matty Cash’s cross two minutes into the second half completed the turnaround and Lewis Grabban poked in from close range to make it 3-1 to the visitors.

James McClean’s glancing header set up a tense finish, but Stoke could not avoid a seventh defeat in nine league games this season, increasing pressure on Potters manager Nathan Jones.

Jones’s position has come under increasing scrutiny but his side, who remain second from bottom, started impressively.

Gregory almost opened the scoring from a delightful Tom Ince through-ball with an effort that had to be cleared off the line by Michael Dawson.

But the summer signing from Millwall was not to be denied his first Stoke goal for long, taking a lovely first touch and smashing the ball past Brice Samba after Forest failed to clear a corner.

Stoke continued to look sharper and brighter, playing with a good tempo at both ends of the pitch, only for a dreadful error by Butland to gift Forest the leveller by the break.

The England international made a real mess of a routine cross by Cash, and Lolley was on hand to smack the ball in from close range.

A perfect Forest start to the second half saw them lead, Ameobi leaping to power in a cross from Cash after good work by Joao Carvalho and Lolley.

And before Stoke had time to regain any composure, they were 3-1 down after more slack defending.

Tom Edwards dallied on the left and was robbed by Ameobi, and his cross was knocked back towards goal via a combination of substitute Tiago Silva and Lolley for Grabban to fire in his fifth goal of the season.

Despite McClean’s flicked header from an Edwards free-kick, Forest held on without further alarm to go top by a point prior to Saturday’s Championship fixtures.