SOMETIMES, you have to be careful what you wish for.

Billy Davies admitted prior to kick off that he wanted Lyon to give his Forest side a good work-out; that he craved a match where the French side would make the ball impossible to get hold of.

And that is exactly what he got, as Lyon demonstrated why they progressed into the semi-final of the Champions League last season, with a display of confident, flowing football that often had Forest chasing shadows.

That is not to say this will not have been a valuable lesson for Forest, who produced some good football of their own, even amidst the tough work-out that Davies craved.

And, while they may have ultimately lost 3-1, there were plenty of positive points to take from their performance, as they produced their most encouraging display of the pre-season so far.

Dexter Blackstock, who had pushed Robert Earnshaw for much of last season for the title of Forest's top goalscorer, initially found himself in an unusual role on the right side of midfield.

It left him with the unenviable task of marking rampaging, speedy full-back Aly Cissokho, a £15m signing from Parma, 12 months ago.

In contrast, Forest's defence was a cobbled-together affair, with Chris Cohen again slotting in on the left side and Julian Bennett partnering Luke Chambers in the centre, amid the 4-2-3-1 formation that the Reds have favoured throughout pre-season.

It took only eight minutes for Forest to be inspired to alter their approach slightly, as the French side stormed into a spectacular lead.

At £13m, Bafetimbi Gomis was only a slightly cheaper purchase, with the French international earning himself the nickname 'Baby Drogba', as he netted ten goals for Lyon last season.

But few can have been as spectacular as the unstoppable, swerving 25-yard shot that had Paul Smith – who had already made one smart stop to deny Manchester United target Ederson – helpless in the Forest goal, as it seared into the back of the net.

An animated Davies shuffled his pack from the touchline, bringing Nathan Tyson across from the left to match Cissokho for pace on the right – and pushing Blackstock onto the opposite flank.

And it almost had an immediate affect as, following a rapier counter-attack, Blackstock was sent racing into the box, only to be felled by a crunching challenge from French international keeper Hugo Lloris that could easily have earned a penalty.

Forest's confidence was growing however and the most expensive player in their side, £2.65m Earnshaw, was twice denied by acrobatics from Lloris.

Their short spell of pressure was eventually rewarded with a goal in the 33rd minute.

Tyson slipped when attempting a shot and instead inadvertently prodded a bobbling pass through to the far post, where Dele Adebola fired home decisively from a tight angle.

There was no doubting the quality of Lyon's response however, as a flowing barrage of one-touch football picked a hole in Forest's defence, leaving Gomis to plunder his second of the game, again leaving Smith with little chance, firing low into the corner of the net from 12 yards five minutes before half-time.

Forest almost levelled again before the break as Tyson, fed following a neat touch from Earnshaw, cut inside from the right and smashed a fizzing shot inches wide of the near post.

Lyon made five changes at half-time but it was Forest's own Frenchman, Guy Moussi, who came close to an equaliser, forcing a fine save from replacement keeper Remy Vercoutre, stretching high to his left.

The referee, Peter Walton, could not be accused of English bias after denying Forest a penalty for the second time, this time after Adebola had prodded the ball beyond Vercoutre, before seemingly having his feet clipped.

Smith, given a chance to impress with Lee Camp – along with skipper Paul McKenna – left out of the squad due to minor injuries, will not have been happy with Lyon's third goal, in the 63rd minute.

Jimmy Briand loped his way inside Bennett and fired a low shot that somehow bobbled beyond Smith.

FOREST: Smith (Darlow 75), Gunter (Moloney 71), Chambers, Bennett, Cohen, Moussi (McGugan 65), Majewski (Thornhill 65), Blackstock (McCleary 54), Earnshaw, Tyson (Freeman 74), Adebola (Rodney 71). Subs: Gibbons, Mullen.

LYON: Lloris (Vercoutre 45), Briand (Belfodil 65), Cissokho, Gassama (Abenzoar 71), Gomis (Reveillere 45), Gonalons (Kallstrom 45), Ederson (Blanc 65), Lovren (Seguin 45) , Pied, Pjanic (Novillo 45), Toulalan (Umtiti 83). Subs: Gorgelin.

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