Nottingham Forest drew 1-1 with Ipswich Town on Saturday afternoon and Martin O’Neill admits feeling hard done by after having a goal incorrectly ruled out for offside. Daryl Murphy thought he’d put his side ahead before half-time, but the linesman flagged for offside and Stroud ruled the goal out.
It’s not the first time in recent weeks that a decision has gone against the Reds and O’Neill revealed his frustration after the game. The Forest manager told Nottinghamshire Live: “We came back into the game and got the equaliser. Then we had the big talking point before half time, when we looked as though we had scored a goal.
“The linesman flagged for offside, but it looked to be about two yards onside. That was a momentum swing, because it would have given us the lead before half time.” Forest could have gone into the break with a psychologic advantage, but it was Ipswich who responded better in the second-half.
O’Neill added: “It is difficult to know how you get that wrong. I am thinking about the decisions that have not gone our way previously (West Brom and Preston). It was an important moment of the game, because it was a goal. It is not as if the keeper has made a save or something – it was straightforward.”
The draw at Portman Road left Forest 11th in the Championship with 54 points from 38 games. The Reds are three points adrift of the playoffs and have picked up only one win in their last four games. O’Neill’s men have dropped points to Stoke City, Aston Villa and now Ipswich in March and have scored one or less goals in five of their last six.
Forest welcome Swansea City to the City Ground on March 30 and could go level on points with Villa in the top-six if results go their way.
Crippy Cooke’s previous article
Predicted XI vs Ipswich: Martin O’Neill could make two changes for Nottingham Forest
