Kyle Wootton scored two second-half goals to earn us victory over fellow promotion hopefuls Solihull Moors.

The forward had Enzio Boldewijn and Ruben Rodrigues to thank for two brilliant assists as we rose above our opponents and back into the play-off places.

Neal Ardley made two changes to the side held by league leaders Torquay at the weekend.

Richard Brindley, who suffered a knock to the nose against the Gulls, was left out of the squad as Dion Kelly-Evans moved to right back. Calvin Miller was handed his first league start at left back and Jim O’Brien slotted in ahead of him, with Rodrigues having to settle for a place on the bench.

The visitors enjoyed the better of the early exchanges as ex-Forest winger Jamie Ward whistled an effort just wide from range before Kyle Hudlin headed off-target from a corner.

Hudlin, standing at 6ft 9in, squandered another headed opportunity on 28 minutes when he nodded Ward’s drifted cross straight at Slocombe and the keeper was also equal to James Ball’s tame effort after Moors had sliced us open with an incisive passing move.

The half ended without us registering a meaningful shot at goal and, after both sides emerged for the second period unchanged, Ball set about atoning for his earlier missed opportunity by weaving his way to the edge of the area before sending his shot over the bar.

Cameron Coxe then saw a shot pushed over by Slocombe before, shortly after the hour, we gave Moors their first nervy defensive moment when Boldewijn’s brilliant low cross from the left was intercepted by a defender and swept up by goalkeeper Ryan Boot.

Then came a double change from Ardley, with Jimmy Knowles and Rodrigues replacing Inih Effiong and O’Brien, and both fresh faces would go on to make a big impact in the latter stages.

We were beginning to turn the screw offensively and, shortly after a Michael Doyle corner had cannoned off the shin of Alex Lacey and into the keeper’s grasp, Dion Kelly-Evans rattled the crossbar with a sweet strike from the edge of the area.

It was beginning to look like a second successive 0-0 at Meadow Lane would be the most likely outcome but Boldewijn had other ideas as he collected the ball in a central position, raced away from several opponents and showed excellent awareness and composure to supply Wootton with a deft pass inside the area. The front man guided the ball beyond Boot to give us a 79^th-minute lead.

And the points were sealed with seconds of normal time remaining when Knowles scampered on to a ball into the right-hand channel before cutting it back into the area. Rodrigues took charge, dancing his way past those in front of him before coolly rolling the ball to Wootton for the simplest of finishes.

Notts starting XI: Slocombe; Miller, Lacey, Rawlinson, Kelly-Evans; O'Brien (Rodrigues 68'), Doyle, Reeves, Boldewijn; Effiong (Knowles 68'), Wootton

Unused subs: Chicksen, Wolfe, Sam