Nottingham Forest have an academy to be proud of and the players who form part of it continue to make waves.

Last night, the Forest under-21s headed to Carlisle to kick off their second successive campaign in the Bristol Street Motors Trophy.

During the club's maiden season in the competition, Forest progressed through their group before losing to Doncaster in the knockout stages.

Against the League Two outfit last night there were a number of top performers for the young Forest team.

James Perch was impressed with Forest utility man Joe Gardner but Archie Whitehall got the winner and Zach Abbott was also in fine form.

Another player was in great form and he perhaps highlighted why Nuno Espirito Santo was keen to give him some minutes during pre-season.

Before Forest had welcomed Matz Sels back following his extended break from Euro 2024, the Reds faced Chesterfield in a friendly.

MORE FOREST STORIES

Bott was given some minutes from the bench and clearly, the third-choice goalkeeper on Trentside has taken confidence from that.

Last night he was in fine form against Carlisle and it's becoming easy to see why Espirito Santo had no problem in giving him some minutes.

Sofa Score shows that he made six saves during his 90 minutes on the pitch and to be brutally honest, he was unfortunate not to keep a clean sheet.

He commanded his area well too, making three punches and collecting one high ball in his hands.

Bott can also play out from the back and last night he completed 30 of his 34 passes with a success ratio of 88%.

Bott is now third choice goalkeeper at Forest With Matt Turner joining Crystal Palace on loan and Forest selling Odysseas Vlachodimos, the Reds have streamlined their goalkeeping options.

Sels remains the number one, with Carlos Miguel the man currently providing the cover from the bench.

The departure of two experienced goalkeepers, however, leaves a gap when it comes to third choice and Bott looks to be capable of stepping into the breach.

The 19-year-old is yet to concede a goal in the Premier League 2 campaign this season and captained the team in the 2-0 win over Reading on Friday.

Last night, he showcased what he's all about and it's hard to imagine Espirito Santo having too many qualms about using him in his matchday squad if injury or suspension strikes.