Coventry v Nottm Forest 17/08/96 3.00

Coventry                (0) 0 Nottm Forest            (2) 3 FT
                              Campbell 13,36,47

Kevin Campbell destroyed Coventry with a hat-trick in 47 minutes and Forest could take it easy in the fierce sun.

His form in pre-season friendlies had been devastating by scoring eight times in as many games and he looked as hungry for goals as ever.

For City it was humiliation coming seven days after losing 7-2 to Portugese giants Benfica on the same ground.

Forest appeared to be able to break through Coventry's leaky defence at will and Campbell had four good chances in addition to his hat-trick. He linked magnificently with Dean Saunders signed for £1.5million from Turkish club Galatasary in the summer.

Saunders was the springboard for most of Forest's attacks and appears to be a superb signing for Frank Clark's side.

The biggest cheer of the afternoon from the Coventry fans came after 58 minutes when David Burrows fired in their first shot on target. It was right down the slot and gathered safely by Forest's goalkeeper Mark Crossley.

Forest opened the scoring after just 13 minutes when Campbell bravely raced after Saunders through-pass. He flicked the ball over the advancing goalkeeper Steve Ogrizovic into the gaping net before the two players painfully collided. They both had extensive treatment before continuing.

The collision appeared to do no damage to either. Campbell went on to rampage to the first hat-trick of the season and Ogrizovic made some blinding saves.

Campbell could have completed his hat-trick as early as 22 minutes. In the 21st minute Alf Haaland played him through and he was in the clear slightly to the right of goal he blasted his shot high into the crowd.

Sixty seconds later Saunders headed down but Campbell's close range shot cannoned away off the goalkeeper's legs.

It was almost a one-man show as he menaced Coventry every time the ball reached him. He nearly scored again in the 28th minute when he surged past Paul Williams on the left, checked back and then chipped beautifully over Ogrizovic only to see centre back Liam Daish clear off the line with an overhead kick.

After 33 minutes, Saunders who had sparked most of Forest's attacks, got in on the act when Chris Bart-Williams played him through but his fierce drive was blocked by Ogrizovic.

Campbell got the second breakthrough in the 36th minute when Saunders sent him away and this time he tucked the perfect shot into the top corner of the net.

He needed only two minutes of the second half to complete his hat-trick. Coventry's nervous defence only half cleared Ian Woan's corner kick and Campbell on the edge of the box, cheekily caught the ball on his instep, flipped it past Daish and ran round him to coolly drive a left foot shot past Ogrizovic's left hand.

The match was over to all intents and purposes and Forest took their foot off the accelerator at which point Coventry mounted their first sustained pressure of the game.

Scotland captain Gary McAllister, who had been largely anonymous, tried a 30-yarder which Crossley dived to push out for a corner. Then in the 65th minute, the former Leeds man hit a volley which Crossley palmed over.

But Forest were not finished and with nine minutes to go Campbell again surged through to force Ogrizovic into a block at the near post and three minutes later Saunders hit a left footer which Ogrizovic could only parry and the goalkeeper then saved on the rebound from the rampaging Campbell.

Coventry: (4-4-2) Ogrizovic, Burrows, Borrows, Daish, Richardson, Williams, O'Neill (Jess, 50), Dublin, Whelan (Ducros, 50), McAllister, Salako.

Subs not used: Filan, Shaw, Telfer.

Nottm Forest: (3-5-2) Crossley, Pearce, Jerkan, Cooper, Chettle, Haaland, Bart-Williams, Saunders (McGregor, 85), Campbell, Stone (Gemmill, 75), Woan.

Subs not used: Fettis, Allen, Lyttle.

Attendance: 19,468.

Referee: A Wilkie (Chester Le Street).