Kicking off after the rest of the day's games had ended, Forest knew that a second Easter victory would propel them firmly back into the race for the top six.
And form man Matt Derbyshire added to his early strike against Birmingham City on Saturday with a double inside 16 minutes.
That was that as far as the scoring was concerned and, as unlikely as it seemed just over 48 hours ago, Stuart Pearce may yet be taking over a Premier League side in the summer.
Only one point now separates the Reds from Brighton & Hove Albion after they were held to a draw by Blackpool although Reading can move into sixth and increase the gap by a further point should they defeat Middlesbrough on Tuesday night.
Brighton are then in action on Friday when they host Yeovil before Forest travel on Saturday to face a Bournemouth side who still have hopes of a play-off place themselves.