Nottingham Forest gear up for huge Chelsea clash in perfect fashion

Nottingham Forest U18s extended their impressive run of form to five games without defeat as they beat Middlesbrough 3-0 at the Nigel Doughty Academy on Saturday afternoon.

Warren Joyce's side have enjoyed some brilliant form in recent weeks with a 2-1 win over table-topping Manchester City as well as a thrilling 4-4 draw with Leeds United. In the FA Youth Cup, meanwhile, the Reds have reached the semi-final stage where they will face Chelsea on April 4.

The Reds' latest victory came courtesy of a brace from Detlef Esapa Osong and a Jack Perkins strike.

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Scoring was underway after just six minutes when Esapa Osong cut inside on the edge of the box and curled into the bottom corner. Forest then doubled their lead a minute before half-time when Josh Powell's initial effort was saved and fell at the feet of Perkins who made no mistake with the rebound.

Jack Nadin had a shot headed towards the top-corner well saved by Nathan Fisher on 53 minutes, but the Reds made no mistake less than 10 minutes later when Esapa Osong was felled inside the penalty area and he converted the resulting spot-kick.

Forest U18s' impressive run of form makes them the fourth most in-form team in the Premier League 2 North Division; only Man City, Liverpool and Wolves have better form over the past five games.