21 October 2024
Nott’m Forest 1 Crystal Palace 0
Nottingham Forest welcomed Crystal Palace to the City Ground for the final fixture of the weekend. The visitors are still searching for their first win of the campaign and find themselves in the bottom three as a result. Oliver Glasner knows this needs to change quickly if they are to stand any hope of retaining their Premier League status this season.
The hosts were missing the influential Morgan Gibbs-White as well as their manager Nuno Espirito Santo. It seemed the perfect opportunity for the visitors to take full advantage. Forest have been struggling to find their form at home this season, everything seemed to be leaning towards The Eagles grabbing that coveted first win of the season.
Palace started the game in a positive mood. Eze burst through the middle of the Forest defence and tried his luck from just outside the box. With Sels rooted to the spot, his effort went narrowly wide of the far post. It was an early warning for Espirito Santo’s side that this was not going to be an easy game against a team hungry for points.
Both teams were looking to get forward at any given opportunity. After forcing a corner, the cross was flicked on and found Wood at the back post. His header was blocked on the line by a mixture of defender and keeper as the visitors then hacked the ball clear. The Forest striker has had a new lease of life since Forest appointed their new manager last season.
Anderson was running the show in the middle of the park. He really stepped up to the plate in the absence of Gibbs-White. He swung a pinpoint cross into the box and picked out Wood perfectly. On this rare occasion, the Kiwi striker sent his powerful header wide of the target. Henderson would have had little chance of stopping the effort had it been more accurate.
Yates then lost the ball in the middle of the park. Nketiah ran towards the Forest goal with options both left and right. The former Arsenal striker opted to go for goal instead. His shot seemed to have Sels well beaten but just clipped the outside of the post. It summed up the narrow margins that were costing the visitors so far this season.
As the hosts continued to press, Yates got up at the back post and looked to head into the far corner. Henderson was beaten but as the ball bounced, it struck the back post and came back out into play. So close to giving Espirito Santo’s side the lead. You wondered whether this was going to be one of those games that end up in stalemate.
Just before the interval, Anderson picked the ball up in a wide position. His curling cross was met on the volley by Wood but he could not get enough of a connection to trouble the Palace keeper. The striker had seen the lion’s share of chances for the hosts and the only surprising factor was his inability to find the back of the net.
After the break, the visitors were awarded a free kick deep in the Forest half. Hughes touched it into the path of Eze, who drilled a superb strike towards the top corner. Only the agility of Sels was enough to deny him as he tipped the effort over the bar. It was almost the perfect start to the second half for The Eagles.
Then came the turning point of the game. A direct ball forward was poorly headed clear by Chalobah. It dropped to Wood, who struck a first-time shot towards the bottom corner. Henderson seemed to have the shot covered but it squirmed underneath him and into the back of the net. The City Ground erupted as they saw the ball in the back of the net.
When things aren’t going your way, it never rains it pours. Mistakes like this just create an uphill struggle for you. The reaction of the former Forest keeper summed it up perfectly. This was not the sort of performance he was hoping for on his return to the City Ground. A difficult task had now become much tougher for Glasner’s side.
Mateta started to cause problems with his physical presence. He cut the ball back from the byline to find Schlupp on the edge of the box. He took one touch to steady himself before trying to bend one into the far corner. As it went through a sea of players, Sels saw it late, but was able to react to tip the effort around the post.
It was an even game where both sides created plenty of chances. The only surprise was that the result was dictated by a single goal. Victory moved Forest up to eighth in the table. Crystal Palace remained in the bottom three. There is plenty of time left in the season to change their predicament but the signs are not looking good for The Eagles.
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