Commons In The Goals

Kris Commons admitted that the return of Nathan Tyson has got Nottingham Forest’s strikers looking over their shoulders.

And the midfielder, who has been playing as part of a three-pronged attack, knows his position is under threat too.

Commons could not have responded better to Tyson’s return from knee ligament injury on Saturday, scoring both goals in the 2-0 win over Brentford.

But he admitted there is more expectation on him to get the goals now that he is playing in a more advanced position.

He said: ‘There’s three good strikers up there and we had three good strikers on the bench as well. So if you’re not doing the business you know you will get brought off.

‘Nicky Southall has been keeping us in it lately with all his goals, but with six fit strikers at the club, you know you’ve got to be scoring to get in the side.

‘It’s good that I’m back in the goals and hopefully I can carry it on for the next game.’

Commons hit two identical free kicks to put Forest in control by half time.

It took his season’s tally to three after missing the best part of two months of the campaign with an ankle injury.

While his double on Saturday eased the pressure on him, first choice strike duo Junior Agogo and Neil Harris made it a combined 16 appearances since either of them scored.

And Commons perfectly demonstrated the sense of pressure on the hit men as he expressed his disappointment at being substituted before getting the chance to claim the first hat-trick of his career.

He said: ‘It was important that we got the result, but on a hat-trick, I was disappointed that I had to come off. It was disappointing, but it was good to get back on the scoring track.

‘I scored a brace at Watford last year, and I’ve had a couple of twos, but never a hat-trick. I thought it was my day.

‘I was disappointed when I got in the dugout, but you’ve got to give the other lads a chance and three points is more important than three goals.’


Nottingham Evening Post