3 things we learned from Forest win
The manner of Saturday`s victory was certainly a surprise, but there have be signs in recent weeks that Aitor Karanka was beginning to stamp his mark on this Forest side.
Of course, we shouldn`t expect to score five goals every week. The gaffer is keen on a clean sheet after all, but it seemed that at Loftus Road the shackles came off for the first time in a while. There were a lot of positives to come out of the resounding win against mid-table rivals. Here are a few:
1. Five goals from the front four
For a frontline that has struggled to score all season, it was a breath of fresh air to see our front four hit the back of the net against QPR. Lee Tomlin has been an absolute revelation since his arrival at the club, and with an assist and two fantastic finishes, the calls will get louder for us to sign him up permanently from Cardiff.
It was great to see Ben Brereton on the scoresheet too. The 18-year-old has had a lot of faith shown in him to be selected as our first-choice lone striker in recent weeks, and the goal should give him more confidence. Hopefully, we`ll begin to see him score more often over the next few months.
Another special moment was Matty Cash`s first goal for us. The youngster is someone with a massive future ahead of him. He has great pace and skill, but if he can add goals to his game we`ll certainly have a real player on our hands.
2. A centre midfield partnership that is thriving
We needed some steal and experience in the middle of the park, and the January arrivals of Ben Watson and Jack Colback have certainly delivered that. The pair look like they have played together for years despite only having started the last three games together.
The former Watford man has taken the captain`s armband in his stride, winning possession of the ball, and leading his team mates, with the Newcastle loanee beside him looking an equally assured presence. They look like inspired signings by the manager at the moment.
3. The gaffer outsmarts his counterpart
In the first game at the City Ground earlier this season we thrashed Ian Holloway`s men but the QPR manager has changed his system to three at the back since then. A 3-5-2 formation usually causes teams that play 4-3-3, or 4-2-3-1 in our case, a lot of problems but our manager made some great adjustments that helped grab a win.
Bringing Matty into the team on the right-hand side, and moving Tomlin into the No.10 role, increased our attacking threat significantly compared to our last outing against Reading. We exposed their back three and were rewarded with some great goals and a great performance.
Thoughts?
