'Absolutely brilliant': Sky pundit thought Nottingham Forest star was quality in first half vs Brighton

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Nottingham Forest are taking on Brighton this afternoon at the AMEX Stadium.

At half-time, Forest are losing 2-1 with Jack Hinshelwood and Danny Welbeck cancelling out Chris Wood’s opening goal.

The Reds have played their part at the break, however, and it promises to be a fascinating second half in store.

There have been some strong performances from the men in the Garibaldi but the game hinged on a two-minute period just before the break.

First Hinshelwood levelled things up and then after Ola Aina gave away a soft free-kick, Welbeck fired the Seagulls in front.

• READ MORE: Pundit raves about Nottingham Forest star

Lee Hendrie raves about Morgan Gibbs-White during Forest clash

The Reds started the game brightly and went ahead when Wood fired home from the spot after Callum Hudson-Odoi won a penalty.

Gibbs-White was his usual self though and he ultimately set the tone for the performance that Forest produced in the opening 40 minutes.

Hendrie was on co-commentating duties on Sky Sports and he was very impressed with the Forest captain.

The former Premier League player said: “He’s been absolutely brilliant. He’s not even had loads of the ball to show off his skills. His passing ability and his work ethic have set the tone for this performance so far. He’s set the benchmark.”

Gibbs-White needs to produce the goods for a comeback

The Reds need to go back to basics in the second half and conceding twice so close to half-time isn’t ideal.

Gibbs-White has looked lively though and hopefully, some more chances can be created during the second period.

Nuno Espirito Santo has opted to go with Hudson-Odoi and Anthony Elanga from the off today so he doesn’t have those options from the bench.

Gibbs-White typically sets the tone for the Forest displays and the challenge now is for him to come out and showcase why he’s so highly thought of.