Sheff Utd 1 Nott'm Forest 3
Points were of necessity to Nott’m Forest as they travelled to Bramall Lane to face already relegated Sheff Utd. The Blades had gone down this season with no more than a whimper but were keen to heap the pressure on Nuno Espirito Santo’s side.
Gibbs-White is the leader of this Forest side and is involved in everything good they do. He got down the right and put an inch-perfect cross in for Wood but he side-footed his shot wide of the post. The striker seems to have lost his goalscoring touch of late, missing some gilt-edged chances.
They paid the ultimate price as Montiel wiped out Brereton-Diaz in the box. The referee immediately pointed to the spot and the striker picked himself up to take it. He blasted his shot into the back of the net, with Sels diving in the opposite direction.
Sheff Utd have proved time and time again this season that nobody should trust them with their dog. Once again they were unable to hold onto a lead as Hudson-Odoi cut in from the left to bend a shot into the far corner to draw the visitors level.
Credit: @NFFC
Archer then touched the ball around his man before spinning to get onto it again. He headed towards goal but as Sels sprinted off his line, he made a crucial block to deny him. With somewhat of an ironic name, the Sheff Utd frontman had shown very little killer instinct in front of goal this season.
The Blades seemed to be playing with an air of freedom with their fate already decided. Hamer shot from outside the box but Sels made a fantastic save to tip it over the bar. As Forest failed to clear their lines from the corner, it dropped to Archer who hit his shot into the ground and over.
One thing you can guarantee every season in this league, if you look at the sides who get relegated, they have not got a goalscorer in form. This was underpinned by how wasteful they had been in this game with the scores level.
Nott’m Forest came forward as Gibbs-White clipped a cross into the box. Wood met it with a great header but his effort thundered back off the crossbar. The striker just cannot buy a goal at the moment. He stood with his head in his hands, contemplating his life decisions.
Early in the second half Forest lofted a free kick into the box. As The Blades failed to fully clear the ball, it dropped to Yates in the middle of the box and he smashed it home to give the visitors a crucial lead. The away end erupted for the midfielder’s first goal of the season in the league.
Sheff Utd almost immediately equalised as Hamer dribbled into the box before getting a shot away. It went agonisingly wide of the far post when half of the ground thought it was heading in. These are the fine lines that have cost Chris Wilder’s side their Premier League status.
Credit: @NFFC
Hudson-Odoi then picked the ball up on the left wing and cut inside, looking for a carbon copy goal of his first half strike. As he looked to bend the ball in the far corner, it clipped the outside of the post and went wide. He held his head in his hands, knowing how important another goal would be.
The Blades just do not seem to learn from their experiences at all. As Hudson-Odoi picked the ball up again and predictably tried to replicate all of his previous chances. He got onto his right foot and bent it into the bottom corner to double the visitors’ lead.
Obviously the Forest winger has seen Saka get away with this for the majority of the season and thought he would follow suit. It was the 100th goal Sheff Utd had conceded this campaign. Mental stats from The Blades. They cannot be surprised with their relegation as a result.
Forest held on for all three points and salt was rubbed in the wound in added time as Ahmedhodzic was shown a second yellow card and given his marching orders. Nuno Espirito Santo’s side are now three points clear of Luton Town and will fancy their chances of Premier League survival.
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