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Martin O'Neill has won five of his 13 league matches as Nottingham Forest manager

Substitutes Joao Carvalho and Karim Ansarifard were both on target as Nottingham Forest left it late to beat play-off rivals Hull City and move to within two points of the top six.

The Reds had the better of the possession and chances at a sold-out City Ground.

But they lacked composure in front of goal until the final 20 minutes, when Carvalho smashed in a brilliant opener from 25 yards.

Ansarifard made it 2-0 within four minutes, reacting quickly to net when Joe Lolley's strike had come back of the post.

The impressive Lolley added a third from the penalty spot to close out the victory after Jack Colback was fouled by Markus Henriksen.

Forest's victory means they remain eighth, but are now three points ahead of Hull and just two places behind fierce rivals Derby, who could only draw with Sheffield Wednesday at Pride Park.

The Reds, who had lost their past five home league matches against Hull, had to be patient for a deserved three points after a performance that grew in confidence.

Yohan Benalouane had their first chance, a dipping early volley that went just wide, but their best first-half opening came just before the break when Lolley headed over when well placed after some good work by Ryan Yates.

Hull's main threat came through Kamil Grosicki, but the closest he came was when he got away from Tendayi Darikwa only for his near-post shot to produce a comfortable save by Costel Pantilimon.

The hosts remained on top on the turnaround, Alexander Milosevic's header forcing an outstanding save from David Marshall before the introduction of Carvalho and Ansarifard changed the course of the afternoon.

They scored a goal apiece within four minutes and that became three goals inside 11 minutes when Lolley coolly slotted home from the spot.

Nottingham Forest manager Martin O'Neill said:

"We're in the (play-off) battle. It's a still a long road, but the players have a lot of confidence about themselves.

"It was a tough old first half. The substitutes had a very, very important part to play for us. But I also thought there were some excellent performances from us.

"These next two games (at home to Aston Villa and away to Ipswich) are big for us before the international break, but at least that's another three points.

"We'll take them and we'll be delighted with them. That's four consecutive victories here and it was a big win."

Hull City manager Nigel Adkins said:

"Before the game we were four points off the play-offs and now we are five points. We kept the home crowd quiet for long periods, but maybe we didn't have that final decisive pass in the final third.

"The first goal was going to be decisive, but it's fair to say it was a wonder strike from the lad.

"Sometimes it's fine margins, but that's given the home side the impetus to win the game - and then the second goal has taken it away from us.

"We wanted to win and we played some good football again, but you've got to go and score."