Brighton and Hove Albion failed to to book an early place in the knockout stages of the Premier League Cup as they slipped to their first Group E defeat 2-1 at Nottingham Forest.
Brighton were a goal and a man down inside six minutes, with Forest's James Thorne scoring a rebounded effort from his own penalty after Ben Hall was sent off.
Despite their numerical disadvantage the visiting Seagulls equalised through George Cox's penalty in the 82nd minute, but Nicolao Dumitru-Cardoso sealed Forest's first Group E victory by hitting a 90th-minute winner.
📝 Match report as Nicolao Dumitru's late strike seals a 2-1 win for #NFFC Under 23s against @OfficialBHAFC.
— Nottingham Forest FC (@NFFC) January 23, 2017
➡️ https://t.co/mHNZah5iiQ pic.twitter.com/FtEV9ccIpS
Brighton remain top of Group E on nine points and need only one win from their last two matches to reach the knockout stages. Forest are third on four points, two behind West Ham United, whose match with Leicester City was postponed because of a frozen pitch.
Premier League Cup explained | PL Cup tables
The match report from #BHAFC under-23s' narrow 2-1 defeat against Nottingham Forest in the #PLCup this evening. https://t.co/k9zZBHM7MT pic.twitter.com/T0fSA2e5Tr
— BHAFC ⚽️ (@OfficialBHAFC) January 23, 2017
Brighton are next in Premier League Cup action on 13 February when they entertain Leicester City, while Forest play West Ham United at Dagenham & Redbridge.