Reds Win But Fail To Shine

Forest finally got back to winning ways at the City Ground this afternoon, with a 2-0 win over a sorry Millwall side. Forest were the better side in a truly awful game of football, that saw the Reds climb up to 3rd in the table and the Lions slip to 4th from bottom.

Due to arriving at the ground slightly late, I missed the opening couple of minutes and apparently missed the best bit of action in the entire half. Hoskins could have opened his Forest account within 90 seconds of the start when faced with a one on one with the keeper, but his effort hit the legs of keeper Rhys Evans. From what was seen of the new kid on the block today he looks a live wire and has a good sense of positioning and control of the ball. Neither he nor Tyson got the service they required to have any effect on the game today, so it would be harsh to criticise them really. Just as I was taking my seat Commons sent a shot just over the bar, that had me thinking we were in for an entertaining afternoon, but it was a forlorn hope as the half descended into a dour affair, with neither side wanting to take a risk and push forward.

I spent most of the first half observing the mindless Lions support being evicted from the ground for various petty misdemeanours. I was kind of hoping for some sort of eviction myself, just to get me away from the football. It really was a dull and uninspiring game, that had the atmosphere inside the City Ground feeling more like a morgue, rather than a football match.

The teams went off at the break to a chorus of boos from the home support and I trundled off down the steps to break my New Year resolution of not buying any more of the sorry excuse for alcohol they sell at the ground, which only goes to show that watching my beloved Reds, does infact drive you to drink.

Within minutes of the restart though, Forest broke the deadlock. A well delivered corner from Commons saw Bennett rise above the Lions defence and head powerfully into the net. Thank God for that. A couple of minutes later Tyson fed a neat ball into the path of Commons, but his shot was easily saved by Evans. Things were livening up and threatening to turn into a football match, only Millwall didn’t seem to want to play. The seven or so new signings made in the transfer window were having little effect for the visitors, although Jay Simpson was a threat.

The second goal for the Reds came from another defender. This time it was Luke Chambers and once again from a corner. Commons sent over another well placed ball, for Morgan to knock down and for Chambers to slide the ball home. 2-0 and it was game over for Millwall.

If this was a performance to save Calderwoods’ head it failed miserably. A very poor first half was only marginally improved on in the second. The team seems to be playing without any cohesion and appears disjointed as well as low on confidence. It’s hard to work out CC’s formations and I’d hazard a guess that it was 4-4-2 today, at least it was in the second half. The way we lined up in the first was something of a mystery to be honest and all I could say with any certainty was that we had 4 at the back. It’s a sort of mix and match as the game goes on I reckon. But, a win is a win as they say and the points are all that count. I hate being so negative, but it’s hard not to be at the moment.