Nottingham Forest midfielder Henri Lansbury missed a late penalty as Middlesbrough held on to earn a 2-1 victory at the City Ground in the Championship's early kickoff.
Boro went ahead after just two minutes, a low cross from George Friend was left by Albert Adomah to David Nugent, who slotted the ball past Dorus de Vries from close range.
However, Forest replied within five minutes as Matt Mills connected with a Lansbury corner to strike the ball into the roof of the net to make it 1-1.
In a fast-paced opening, Stewart Downing was put through on goal by Adam Clayton but the winger could not beat De Vries one-on-one.
The Dutchman was involved again not long after with the goalkeeper pulling off a double save, first from Nugent before picking himself up to block Adomah's follow-up shot.
Aitor Karanka's men did retake the lead before half time as Daniel Ayala latched on to a poor Kelvin Wilson clearance to nod past a helpless De Vries.
After the break, Ryan Mendes was presented with an opportunity to equalise but the Cape Verde international decided to ignore his teammates in space before being denied by Dimitros Konstantopoulos.
Mendes went close again later in the second half when he volleyed the ball into the turf but the bouncing effort was saved well by Konstantopoulos.
Forest had a chance to draw level just before the end as they were awarded a penalty after Ben Gibson handled the ball into the box but Lansbury's spot kick was saved comfortably by Boro's Greek goalkeeper to help them preserve the three points.
Middlesbrough have now won their last five games in all competitions and stay in second but close the gap to top spot to just two points, while Dougie Freedman's men remain in ninth.
Nathan Staples
