Fulham boss Kit Symons was thrilled to see Ross McCormack hit the goal trail in style after his first-half hat-trick sank Nottingham Forest 3-2.
McCormack has this season rarely looked like the prolific hitman Fulham purchased from Leeds United in the summer.But he blew Forest away with a 28-minute treble to take his tally for the season to 10 and Symons said: "Ross was excellent. He took his goals really well.
"It's nice to see him scoring, although his overall contribution has never been in question. I don't care who scores the goals but I'm pleased for him."
McCormack struck his first goal in the seventh minute from the edge of the box, rifled in number two off the inside of the post and deserved the slice of luck he received when the third took a wicked deflection off Todd Kane.
The visitors threatened a comeback when Henri Lansbury scored either side of half-time, and would have dragged themselves level but for a glaring miss by top scorer Britt Assombalonga.
However, Fulham held out for a victory which was a far cry from when the teams met at the City Ground in mid-September, with Forest top of the table and Fulham rock bottom.
A 5-3 defeat that day signalled the end of Felix Magath's ill-fated spell in charge and such has been Fulham's revival under Symons - and Forest's decline from those heady days - that the sides are now level on points in mid-table.
Symons added: "In the second half Forest had a right go but we were resolute, we stood up and were counted.
"They were putting a lot of balls into our box, there was always that danger that something would fall for them but I was pleased with the way we defended overall."