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For 52 minutes the Reds struggled to break down a stubborn Huddersfield rearguard.

But then man-of-the-match Cohen popped up to put the ball on a plate for Henri ­Lansbury to finally break the deadlock.

It was a thoroughly deserved assist for the left-back who replaced Danny Collins as the skipper of Davies’ new-look side.

“It was an inspired performance by Chris Cohen,” said the Forest boss.

“It was a tremendous run and it was a ­terrific performance. He always leads by ­example and is a fantastic captain.”

Forest have rightly been highly fancied as ­promotion contenders – but few who saw the first half will be in a rush to back them.

In fact, they looked rather disjointed and ­Huddersfield more than held their own.

And the Terriers could have taken the lead as new boy Martin Paterson’s tenth-minute drive just went over the bar. The hosts had a lot of possession but they struggled to break down Huddersfield.

New signing Jamie Mackie was full of ­energy for Forest in a high-tempo display – but could not carve himself a chance.

Forest were indebted to young keeper Karl Darlow within seconds of the restart.

Preferred to new signing Dorus De Vries, ­Darlow spectacularly dived to keep out James Vaughan’s left-footed thunderbolt – and it proved to be a turning point.

Davies’ men were able to raise the tempo with Simon Cox and Adlene Guedioura both driving over from long range.

But eventually Cohen’s industry paid off as he breached the Huddersfield defence to give Lansbury the easiest goal he will ever score. It finally eased the pressure and Forest were able to relax after that.

Cox came close to making it two for the hosts but he shot just wide after another fine pass by Cohen.

But Huddersfield were not completely out of it themselves and Vaughan missed a great chance with his head to level up from Paul Dixon’s cross.

Despite Davies’ spirited cheerleading on the ­touchline his side were never in trouble.

And they could have sealed it late on when sub Ishmael Miller half-volleyed wide after Danny Collins had nodded on Andy Reid’s corner.

“We lost the game because of a big lapse of concentration and because of Chris ­Cohen,” said ­Terriers boss Mark Robins.