A stalemate at ‘the gate’

Forest claimed a point in the battle of the league 1 big boys to keep alive there hopes of automatic promotion with a 1-1 draw at Ashton Gate. Bristol City dominated the game as Forest were once again content to defend a lead in the first half and then hold on for a point in the second half, much to the frustration of the away supporters.

The game started at a breathless pace with both sides looking to get forward but it was Forest who came closest to an opening goal in the second minute. Jack Lester was felled on the left hand side of the penalty area resulting in a curling free kick from Commons that flew just wide of the right hand post. However, Bristol City went straight down the other end and came even closer when Kevin Betsy found himself unchallenged on the edge of the box but thankfully for the reds his shot was scuffed just wide of the Smith`s right hand post. Then, almost instantly, Forest produced the first goal of the game after some superb work by Kris Commons on the left hand side. Lester fed the wide man in midfield before Commons managed to flummox two defenders and get a near post cross into Grant Holt, who sent a diving header past Adriano Basso to send the away fans into raptures.

This goal seemed to galvanise the robins however and they almost equalized with their next attack. A free-kick came in to giant centre half McCombe who powered a header at goal but Smith made a great save to palm the ball to his left and out for a corner. From this point on, City took control of proceedings and piled the pressure on the Forest defence who seemed content to sit back and defend on their own 18 yard box. However, this tactic proved costly on 37 minutes as yet another cross caused chaos in the Forest box resulting in City`s equalizer. The ball was nodded across goal and Cole Skuse fired at shot at goal which Smith did well to parry only for full back Bradley Orr to smash the rebound into the roof of the net and silence the Forest supporters behind the goal. The following 7 minutes consisted of more of the same with Forest surrendering possession too easily and allowing Bristol to crank up the pressure. When the half time whistle went it was met with much relief from all of those around me and we hoped that the break might give Forest an opportunity to re-group and come out fighting.

Unfortunately the second half started in similar fashion with Bristol City playing some good attacking football and Forest struggling to string more than two passes together. Too often the reds resorted to playing hopeful ‘chip` balls out of defence making life very difficult for the front two with a large gap appearing between the latter and the midfield. This instigated the first substitution of the afternoon with Jack Lester being replaced by David Prutton. This change resulted in a chorus of boos from the Forest faithful as it was seen by a negative move from Calderwood with Forest changing to 4-5-1 formation. Presumably this change was made to cope with Bristol City`s dominance of possession but it seemed to make little difference as Forest continued to give the ball away to easily and with only Holt to aim at, they failed to provide much of an attacking threat.

Both Lee Johnson and the lively Steve Brooker went close for City as they continued to dominate and Phil Jevons was only denied a goal by the legs of Paul Smith. The first real stoppage of the half came as Lewis McGugan was injured in a tackle and he was soon replaced by Nathan Tyson to a huge cheer from the Forest fans as the reds went back to a 4-4-2 formation. This seemed to have an immediate impact as Tyson`s pace was causing the Bristol defence some new problems. Shortly after Forest had what seemed to be a very good shout for a penalty turned down by the referee. Grant Holt chased down a long ball and got the better of McCombe on the bye-line only to be wrestled to the floor by the big centre half inside the penalty area. The Forest fans behind the goal screamed for a penalty but it was all in vain as the referee was not interested. The introduction of giant City striker Enoch Showunmi just before a corner kick resulted in a counter move by Forest as John Curtis was replaced by Wes Morgan.

Bristol City missed what was one of the best chances of the second half when Carey thundered a header wide of Smith`s left hand post when it seemed easier to hit the target. By this stage the game had become more end to end as Forest went for a late winner. Tyson was felled by McCombe on the right hand side of the penalty area and this gave Forest a free kick in a dangerous area, much to the displeasure of the home fans. Commons fired over a great free kick to the back post which was nearly bundled in by substitute Morgan. As the ball came back to the edge of the area it dropped nicely for David ‘the messiah` Prutton but his shot was too low and was blocked by one of a number of City defenders.

Both teams continued to press in the final minutes as 3 minutes of injury time was announced but there were no clear cut chances and the final whistle blew to warm applause from around the ground. A point represented a satisfactory result for both sides although Bristol retained their 4 point lead in second place making the Easter weekend double header hugely important. Forest scarcely deserved anything more but they defended manfully and have kept themselves in the hunt for automatic promotion. This is despite a win for Scunthorpe at Bradford which has almost guaranteed championship football for the Iron next season. Unfortunately the game was marred by trouble outside the ground afterwards although it appeared to be quelled by what was a large police presence.

Bristol City: Basso, Orr, Carey, McCombe, Fontaine, Betsy, Skuse, Johnson, Brian Wilson, Brooker (Showunmi 72), Jevons.
Subs Not Used: Noble, Keogh, Russell, Thomas.
Booked: Skuse, Brian Wilson.
Goals: Orr 38.
Nottm Forest: Smith, Curtis (Morgan 76), Breckin, Chambers, Wright, Perch, Gary Holt, McGugan (Tyson 68), Commons, Grant Holt, Lester (Prutton 49).
Subs Not Used: Pedersen, Bennett.
Booked: Commons, Prutton, Breckin.
Goals: Grant Holt 5.
Ref: T Bates (Staffordshire)