Joe Lolley was threatening as Nottingham Forest played out a goalless draw with Derby County on Monday night. No Forest player had more shots (5), made more dribbles (2) or won more fouls (4) than the 26-year-old, but it didn’t translate into goals at the iPro Stadium.
Forest had more opportunities overall and shared possession despite being the away side, but Aitor Karanka will rue his side failing to score for their second consecutive Championship game. The stalemate leaves Forest sitting seventh in the table with 35 points, just one place and one point off Middlesbrough in the playoffs.
It was the second game on the bounce that Lewis Grabban failed to score in, but the striker did at least have three chances against Derby, two of which hit the target. Lolley came the closest, however, hitting the woodwork, but he was very wasteful in possession at times.
The winger completed only 50% of his passes, managed to find a teammate just once from a cross and failed to complete one long pass. It wasn’t a vintage performance as shown from the result, but it’s something to build on. Even when Lolley isn’t at his best, he’s still the one trying to make a difference.
Crippy Cooke’s previous article
Aitor Karanka should axe Nottingham Forest outcast in January – opinion
