Nottingham Forest 5-1 Swansea City: Sam Surridge hits hat-trick as Steve Cooper's men claim emphatic win

Sam Surridge netted a hat-trick against his former club as Swansea City's nine-game unbeaten run was emphatically ended by Nottingham Forest.

The hosts took the lead through Jack Colback in scrappy fashion at The City Ground before Michael Obafemi's 12th goal of the campaign made it 1-1. But forward Surridge struck three times in the second-half before Alex Mighten scored his side's fifth late on as Steve Cooper's men kept their automatic promotion hopes alive while Swansea suffered their first defeat since losing 1-0 to Blackpool on March 12.

Boyhood Swan Cameron Congreve was handed his first start for the club while Ben Cabango's absence saw Joel Latibeaudiere operate at right centre-back alongside Kyle Naughton and Ryan Manning in the back three.

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The atmosphere was electric early on, and the hosts almost made a dream start inside four minutes when Surridge beat Latibeaudiere before having a shot palmed away, with Manning then clearing off his own line as Philip Zinckernagel looked to prod home the rebound.

Cyrus Christie then had to be alert to fling a leg out at James Garner's strike after Djed Spence found himself in acres of space on Swansea's left flank. Forest's pace in attack was causing heaps of problems, and Surridge had a golden chance to break the deadlock when the home side went direct, although he made a mess of his attempt to lob Andy Fisher.

Nevertheless, the Swans stuck to their principles well and started finding gaps in midfield, with the impressive Flynn Downes flourishing as a result. Manning and Joel Piroe were both unable to trouble Brice Samba with efforts, and soon after, the pace of