When Nottingham Forest required a hero last season in their battle to avoid relegation, up stepped Morgan Gibbs-White.
The £25 million signing is emerging as the emblem of hope in their time of need again, producing an outstanding individual performance here to help inch his club further away from the bottom three.
Gibbs-White delivered a fine goal and another assist, coming after his assist in the 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace on Saturday, and the forward is running into form at the business end of the campaign.
In an often chaotic encounter, he was the standout performer and how Nuno Espirito Santo needs his star players to lead from the front in this fight for survival.
Forest were excellent in the first half and then often panic-stricken in the second, as Fulham provided their manager Marco Silva with another tale of the unexpected.
This is the same Fulham who defeated Manchester United at Old Trafford just a little over five weeks ago. They have also beaten Tottenham and Arsenal, yet also lost to Burnley and Bournemouth.
Here was another result to add to the confusion for Silva, who was so fed up that he made a triple substitution just after the half-hour.
Despite a dramatically improved second half performance, Fulham could not repeat their heroics of Saturday when they secured a comeback draw at Sheffield United.
What an evening it proved for Evangelos Marinakis, the Forest owner. He was in attendance and will have some excruciating memories from the last meeting with Fulham. In December, Forest were thrashed 5-0 at Craven Cottage as Steve Cooper’s tenure inched closer to its end. Before the final whistle, Marinakis stormed out of the director’s box and his lanyard accreditation was found in the bushes of a house on the streets outside the stadium. He will have found this result far more enjoyable, with Forest moving three points above Luton.
While there has been much scrutiny on Marinakis’s spending since Forest’s return to the top division, the outlay on Gibbs-White appears increasingly shrewd. So too does the £3million paid for Callum Hudson-Odoi. Signed from Chelsea last year, the England international produced a fine individual goal after nine minutes. After being sent clear by Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi broke down the left to elude Kenny Tete and sweep the ball past Bernd Leno.
Forest were in total control, attacking with speed and exploiting spaces. Fulham appeared in disarray, incapable of keeping the ball.
Chris Wood extended the home team’s lead in the 20th minute, turning 25 yards from goal to place the ball to the right of Leno. Moments later, Anthony Elanga struck the post after another rapid break and an exasperated Silva had seen enough.
In the 32nd minute he made a triple substitution, bringing on Willian, Tom Cairney and Adama Traore. He would probably have made at least another five changes if the rules allowed it.
There was a brief improvement, but Forest added a third goal in added time. This time it was Gibbs-White, exchanging passes with Danilo to slide the ball into the corner.
Game over? Not quite yet. Four minutes into the second half Fulham finally responded, with Tosin Adarabioyo rising to loop Andreas Pereira’s corner over Matz Sels.
Suddenly, the City Ground became jumpy and Fulham sensed it. Forest were defending as if it were the last game of the season.
Frustration was building in the technical areas and Matt Turner, the Forest substitute goalkeeper, was booked by referee Michael Oliver for dissent.
Fulham were creating chances. Sels was required to deny Adarabioyo a second goal with a diving save before Tete headed against the crossbar.
Yet as time ticked away, Forest managed to regain a foothold and four points in two home matches represents a healthy return.