Those who had come to the City Ground to wallow in nostalgia and dream of Nottingham Forest’s first shot at playing in what we once knew as the European Cup for more than 40 years, walked away from the City Ground and back along the banks of the River Trent disappointed.
This was not a day for romance in the pursuit of the fifth Champions League place.
This was not a day for gazing at the pictures on the walls outside the stadium of John Robertson and John McGovern kneeling in a team photo with the trophy they called Old Big Ears and of revelling in the legend of Brian Clough.