Forest deserve draw

Many Forest fans would have returned to Nottingham last night with mixed emotions as Forest came away from Ashton Gate with a well earned point following their encounter with fellow Pre-Season promotion favourites Bristol City.

Perhaps the first reflection they would have upon the game is that Forest could quite easily have won this match having led with just over ten minutes left before they conceded yet another goal of quality. Not for the first time away from home Forest were denied points by wonder goals and when Russell’s control and half volley from twenty- five yards found Pederson’s bottom right hand corner, it brought what neutrals would call a fair result in an entertaining match.
Forest began looking sprightly after their recent thumping victory over City’s local rivals Swindon and Nathan Tyson had a couple of opportunities early on but was unfortunate not to open the scoring.

Both Forest and City played neat football from the off, counter attacking and trading blows, Murray and Savage standing out for the home side. Forest were disrupted from their good start in the 15th minute when Nicky Southall was replaced by Sammy Clingan following a collision with the City keeper. Forest took a while to settle down again as Clingan fitted in on the right hand side and some solid defending from the Forest rearguard kept parity along with a little help from the Linesman’s flag.
Morgan and Breckin in particular proved a formidable barrier for the City attack all game, winning headers, tackles and diving around to block goal bound shots.
Building on their solid back four Forest came back into the game, at time playing some good football with Perch and Holt working hard in midfield to snuff out City attacks and set Forest on the counter using Tysons pace and Commons skills as outlets.
Commons looked subdued during the first half and was replaced at half time struggling with some kind of injury sustained either pre match or early in the contest.
Forest finished the half the brightest as a Grant Holt effort from inside the area looped over Basso and bounced back off the bar onto the Keeper, who was only just able to stop Tyson knocking the ball home.

Bastians replaced Commons at the break and battled hard to protect Bennett and still get up the other end to put the City back four under pressure with crosses from the left flank.
City had more of the ball and Forest less opportunities in the second half as the game could have gone either way. It was Forest however that got the important first goal as they countered down the right hand flank, as the cross came into the box Holt challenged and the ball dropped to Perch just inside the box to half volley neatly past the stranded Basso.
Following the opener Forest were pegged back as City enjoyed a ten minute spell of domination and chances, Brooker and former Sunderland man Stewart causing a few problems for Pederson in the Forest net. The storm appeared to have been weathered until Russell intervened to help City to a point.

Despite a couple of late scares Forest held on for a point and this leads to the second emotion that would have been felt by the 2,000 plus fans who had made the trip to the West Country. Forest had managed to hang on for a deserved point in a match they probably would have lost a couple of weeks ago. The team again played with a lot of spirit and at last seem to be playing for each other, even though a play-off run is still in the minds of the most ardent fan others will look to the future for comfort.
There are a lot of positives to be taken from performances like these, any incoming manager would want to inherit a team that shows the type of determination and spirit showed on Saturday.
A squad that has youngsters that are full of potential but have already plenty of experience, many of the starting eleven were under twenty five years of age and combined with the more experienced players could grow into a more than useful outfit in the coming years. They are slowly beginning to look stronger at the back, more workmanlike in midfield and with plenty of power and pace up-front. Joint Caretaker Managers Barlow and McParland have the side playing with more confidence than in the weeks prior to Megsons departure and the more they can gel together this season the brighter the future can be for Nottingham Forest.