It was November 25 at Oakwell, a place where the Reds go on Tuesday, which heralded that victory and not far off a year on, the Reds blitzed four on the road to win 4-3 at Brentford in a game that will live long in the memory.
Here's five things that we took away from Griffin Park on the long journey back to Nottingham...
Away form is vital if you’re to have a successful season
Victories on the road for Nottingham Forest have been scarce in recent years, with just two coming in the entirety of last season.
Forest’s at times woeful performances away from the City Ground were one of the key reasons they endured a season of struggle in 2016/17 and if the showing at Brentford is anything to go by, the travelling Reds fans could be in for something of an enjoyable time.
The old adage of winning your home games and picking up points away is on the money, and with the style in which the Reds play, their game and attacking talent will cause no end of problems for teams.
Their fluid attacking system is a joy to watch and with some crisper finishing, which seems callous to say when they’ve scored four on the road, Forest could have had double that.
It may only be one win away from home, but with a trip to Oakwell, a place they scored five at in November to come, the Reds arrive in Barnsley with hope that they can return with three more points - against a side that's lost both their games.
Records are there to be broken
Much of the talk in the build-up was about Mark Warburton’s return to a club he knows well, one that he set on the path to the eye-catching style of football they play now; there was however something else rumbling away underneath.
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Forest’s record against the Bees in recent times had been pretty dire. They hadn’t managed to beat the west London club since April 2007, a stretch of five defeats in six attempts and that included Brentford doing the double over them in the last two seasons.
Much of the damage in previous years was caused by Warburton and the boot was firmly on the other foot at Griffin Park, as Forest soaked up pressure and took their chances when they arrived.
You'd call it a clinical away performance.
Defensive concerns
As pleasing as it was to see Forest play with the freedom they did on Saturday, there are still some concerns that surround the defending of certain key moments. Forest didn’t defend that badly, which may sound daft to say given they conceded three times and it may well have been more but for some fine blocks and saves from Jordan Smith.
Brentford are a very good, very strong attacking side and have caused all teams in the Championship problems in recent years, so that’s nothing new, however the Reds have a habit of making the same mistakes and contributing to their own problems.
Short corner after short corner was taken between Florian Jozefzoon and Jota, to which Warburton’s men simply were not alive to, while against Millwall and Shrewsbury, they continued to gift possession back to the opposition without much effort.
Giving the ball away is a crime and should be treated as such.
Don’t miss
They were, it has to be said, much much better at Griffin Park. Their use of the ball was punchier, sharper and much crisper than it had been.
We’re still early in August and things will get tighter, they will get sharper and more precise as time goes on and picking up points at this stage, generally bodes well.
Saturday’s game did have the hallmarks in some ways of games against Burton and Wigan last season, though you have to retain faith that Warburton will iron out those defensive frailties that were all too common previously.
He simply has to.
Andreas Bouchalakis looks a steal on a free transfer
I remember the first glimpse of the Greek midfielder in the friendly at Notts County, and thought he looked an assured presence in the centre of the park.
We saw more of it in midweek and then it really came to the fore here. His two goals will understandably catch the limelight and rightly so, because both were quite wonderful, but his overall play was on point.
Bouchalakis has the habit of being in the right place at the right time and his use of the ball is very good, he can break up play, he’s strong and uses it wisely without any fuss.
Forest have needed their midfielders to chip in with more goals, and that’s arguably the greatest criticism of Ben Osborn, so if Bouchalakis can continue that vein of form, then great.
Losing 14 goals from Britt Assombalonga will be a big gap to bridge, so it’s imperative they get goals from elsewhere and seeing the likes of Bouchalakis, Kieran Dowell and Barrie McKay all chip in with strikes will be key to any success this season.
Daryl Murphy is already having a huge impact
Getting a goal early on in your career at a new club is of much understated importance. Forest have now seen Daryl Murphy, Jason Cummings, Barrie McKay, Kieran Dowell and Andreas Bouchalakis all net quickly after moving, which will only serve to raise their confidence, while Tendayi Darikwa is trying.
In Murphy, the Reds have somebody who is a big focal point and his importance shouldn’t be underestimated. His play throughout the afternoon was exceptional, and on another day, he could have had more than just the one poacher’s finish he ended up with.
Many baulked at him signing from Newcastle and up to now, it looks like a masterstroke on behalf of the club.
It’s hard to imagine him not hitting well into double figures, while the early signs of his blossoming relationship with McKay is one to watch and genuinely be enthused by.
Great fun to watch
As football matches go, it’s hard to get a better and more enjoyable one than what those of us there were treated to.
Football, believe it or not is about entertainment and enjoying the game and that’s something that happened on Saturday.
If games against Millwall and Shrewsbury had been attritional and lacking good football, this certainly made up for it with a display of some terrific attacking play, stunning goals and much more in between.
The 1,650 or so that sold-out the away end were able to watch on and enjoy a game that will live long in the memory, and that’s what football is all about, making memories.
Those travelling fans have endured a tough time in recent years, and to see them enjoying themselves behind the goal was brilliant.
Forest’s travelling band of supporters delved deep into their repertoire throughout the afternoon to produce some classic tunes from the Reds songbook – it was a delight.
Watch Mark Warburton's post-match thoughts at Brentford in the video below...