NOTTINGHAM Forest's frustration continued, as Middlesbrough condemned them to a second consecutive defeat in the Championship as they lost 1-0 at the Riverside.
Mustapha Carayol crisply taken goal was the final act of a first half that had been dominated for long periods by Billy Davies' side.
But, while they had missed three good chances to take the lead themselves prior to that 43rd minute Boro goal, Forest struggled to rediscover their momentum after the break.
Having gone ten matches unbeaten prior to Saturday's 3-0 reversal at Cardiff, the Reds need to get back to winning ways against Barnsley at the City Ground on Saturday, having now gone five games without a win.
With Leicester beating Bolton 3-2 and Brighton drawing 0-0 at Peterborough, Forest could still move as high as fifth if they can beat the Yorkshire side on home turf.
But, following a lacklustre second half display, in which they only rarely looked likely to equalise, the Reds will need to get back to producing the kind of performances they were producing when Davies first returned for his second spell in charge.
