Bartman and Robins

Nottingham Forest 2

Bart-Williams 52, Edwards 66

Blackburn Rovers 1

Jansen 88

IT'S official! The spirit of Robin Hood is still alive and kicking in the City of Nottingham.

Sherwood Forest's most famous inhabitant became a national legend after stories of robbing the rich to give to the poor.

And David Platt's promotion-chasers are clearly keeping that tradition firmly alive after ransacking Rovers here with an ambush of their own.

It was the Bartman -- not Robin -- who ultimately masterminded their downfall courtesy of two carefully laid traps meticulously planned on the training ground.

But the manner in which Forest escaped with all three points was a clear case of daylight robbery.

Such was Rovers' domination in the opening 51 minutes, the home side had failed to muster a single attempt at goal.

Then -- like a bolt out of the blue -- Chris Bart-Williams suddenly stepped forward to bend an exquisite free kick inside Brad Friedel's left hand post.

And worse was to follow 14 minutes later as Forest struck again with the ultimate sucker punch as Christian Edwards rose unchallenged to head home another expertly executed Bart-Williams set-piece.

It was the perfect smash and grab on a day when Rovers missed a golden opportunity to close the gap on second-placed Bolton.

And manager Graeme Souness couldn't hide his disappointment at the end of a rollercoaster week.

"It was a very disappointing result for us. We did okay in the first half but we knew that David Platt would have words with his team at half time and they'd come out more aggressive in the second half.

"And that's exactly how it turned out," said Souness.

"Just as the game was settling down again they got a breakthrough.

"From their part it was a good goal, from our part it was a bad one.

"So we've been punched on the nose now let's see how we react to that.

"Life is full of setbacks and it's how you bounce back from them. Survivors are what we call characters and I'm sure I'll get a positive response."

Full of confidence after Wednesday night's heroics at Pride Park, Rovers went looking to extend an unbeaten run which stretched back to November.

And they took the sting out of the game with a classic away performance in a one-sided first half.

A glue pot of a pitch was hardly conducive to enterprising approach play but, with skipper Garry Flitcroft winning the physical battle in midfield, Rovers grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck in the opening 45 minutes.

Forest were left chasing shadows as the visitors switched play intelligently, looking to get widemen Damien Duff and Jason McAteer in down the flanks at every opportunity.

Yet, for all their possession, they never carved out any real clear-cut chances to put Dave Beasant under pressure.

Referee Tony Bates waved away Rovers' penalty appeals in the 12th minute when David Dunn took a tumble in the box.

And a volley from Duff flashed inches wide of Beasant's right-hand upright after the Forest defence failed to clear an Alan Mahon corner.

But, as is often the case when teams fails to score when they're on top, all Rovers' good work suddenly fell apart in the 52nd minute.

Mahon needlessly upended Riccardo Scimeca on the edge of the box and up stepped Bart-Williams to curl home a brilliant free kick which left Friedel rooted to the spot.

That triggered a double substitution from Souness as Eyal Berkovic and Matt Jansen were thrust into action.

And the change nearly paid instant dividends as Duff picked out Jansen with a left-wing centre but the England Under 21 international's volley was clawed away by Beasant.

But any thoughts of a comeback soon evaporated when Flitcroft was penalised for a foul on the left in the 66th minute and Bart-Williams whipped over a teasing centre which caught Friedel in two minds, allowing Edwards to head home at the far post.

Andy Johnson nearly rubbed further salt into the wounds with a rasping volley which flew inches over the bar.

Rovers refused to give up the ghost in the last 15 minutes as Berkovic attempted to unpick the Forest defence.

But, by the time Jansen wrong-footed a couple of defenders before beating Beasant with a cool finish in the 88th minute, it was little more than a consolation.

"To get out of this league you've got to fight for every point," said Souness.

"You have to scrap and fight and attempt to play your football when the time is right.

"This a hard league to get out of and reputation won't help us achieve that goal.

"It's not about what you did yesterday, it's about what you do tomorrow.

"Our run had to come to an end somewhere, now it's how we respond to that setback."