Despite injuries to Earnshaw, Wilson and McKenna we battled through to earn a massive three points which lifts us back into the automatic promotion places. Both sides had chances to win the game but it always looked like a draw was the most likely result. However, in injury time, Chambers arrived from nowhere to continue his rare ability to score vital goals for the club.

These three points set us up perfectly for the forthcoming trips to Preston and Barnsley. Two mid-table teams where we have a great chance to turn around our recent troubles on our travels.

The injury to McKenna is a massive concern as we approach a series of mid-week games. Whilst his recent performances haven’t maintained the early standards, his presence alone in the side justifies his inclusion.

Moussi certainly didn’t do enough to suggest that he’s a worthy replacement. Either a direct replacement or a left-back, enabling Cohen to return into midfield is essential to maintaining our current position.  With the large number of games approaching, it’s likely that some of the reserves will have to step up and make an impression on this season.

In an attacking sense, Swansea got plenty of men behind the ball and left Kuqi up front on his own with Pratley breaking from deep whenever possible. It’s not hard to see why they’ve struggled to score many goals this season and yet concede so few.  Pratley did look a class act with his ability to break into space from deep, hopefully we haven’t given up the chance for him and will return with an improved offer in the summer.

On this occasion, their chances came from our own defensive mistakes. Kuqi took advantage of Morgan’s hesitation which required Camp to save smartly from close range. Chambers, for no reason, presented the ball on the bye-line for Kuqi but Pratley couldn’t reach the pull-back.

They’ll still be complaining about a possible penalty decision against Cohen on Pratley. The contact was minimal and Pratley never really made the most of the opportunity and seemed more interested in falling to the ground. We suffered similarly at Doncaster and Coventry so it’s nice to see things evening themselves out.

At the other end, we created plenty of chances but too often we lacked composure in front of goal. McGugan and Majewski found themselves through on goal but their efforts barely troubled the keeper. Blackstock had a goal disallowed for offside whilst Boyd’s effort required an excellent save.

Both sides cancelled each other out for long spells and it looked like we’d have to settle for a useful point. However, late in injury time, McGugan whipped in a perfect corner, their keeper came out and missed, the ball almost hit Chambers and flew into the goal.

Camp didn’t have too much to do but made an important save from Kuqi in the first half to keep us level. A few dodgy moments from some bouncing back-passes but we got away with them.

We looked much more balanced defensively with Cohen replacing Perch at left back. This provided much better support for the midfield in front of him. He should have scored when Anderson skipped past their left back and laid it perfectly into his path. In the end, the volley ended up high and wide when a header might have been the best option. MOTM Gunter continues to show his obvious talents at both ends of the field. Never really troubled by their attacks and showed real pace when attacking on the break.

We missed Wilson’s presence in the centre of defence as both Morgan and Chambers showed moments of panic. With Swansea’s lack of numbers going forward, we got away with it but if they had shown more ambition going forwards we might have been in trouble.

Moussi often looked a mess in midfield, arms and legs all over the place. On the few occasions he won the ball, it wasn’t long til the ball was presented straight back to a white shirt. On one occasion, he even managed to tackle Cohen. McGugan did a reasonable job in midfield and was always capable of providing decent service to Anderson and Boyd. He certainly looked much better than recent appearances. He’s likely to have an increasing involvement in coming weeks due to McKenna’s injury.

Boyd looked a classy player on his debut and showed moments of real promise. He provided important width to compliment Anderson down the right. Looked very comfortable on the ball and linked up very well with the other forwards and created some really dangerous situations breaking forward. On the other side, Anderson looked much better on the right hand side and we’ve missed his combination with Gunter in recent weeks.

Majewski struggled to have any real impact on the game and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him rested in the next couple of weeks. Hopefully the arrival of Boyd will reduce the reliance on Majewski, to create something from nothing, that’s existed for long spells this season. Blackstock continues to work tirelessly up front and too often he lacked the necessary support around him.

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Tags: Games Won, MOTM Chris Gunter

We extended our winning run to five games with a battling performance against a resolute Barnsley side. We played some fantastic stuff in the first half without getting our reward but Barnsley caused a few scares after the break and will consider themselves very unlucky to come away with nothing.

Barnsley to their credit, came to give us a game and certainly played their part. For the first time in ages, Camp was required to make a number of impressive saves to keep us in the game, especially in the second half. Before we’d even got started, Morgan’s clumsy foul resulted in a free kick deceiving Camp but bouncing off the bar.

McGoldrick looked lively in the first half, one brilliant arched run got himself back on-side and then through on goal but the keeper saved. Just before half-time Tyson crossed from the left and he couldn’t get the ball from under his feet and the chance was lost. Both Tyson and Anderson were causing plenty of problems with their defence resulting to illegal measures but after a number of touch games it wasn’t too surprising that they tired.

Tyson in particular got no protection from the referee and it was only a matter of time before he had to withdraw. He did well to last into the second half after a succession of challenges where the ball was an irrelevance. Combined with Blackstock’s injury, Anderson’s fatigue and McGoldrick’s poor form after the break, we were looking short of attacking options in the closing stages.
 
As we entered injury time, it looked like we’d have to settle for a point, McKenna picked the ball in midfield and finally gave Adebola something to work with. He cushioned the ball into Moussi’s path to poke the ball past the keeper.
 
Moussi typified the side on the night. Impressive in the first half but lost his way in the second and struggled to make much of an impression. Without the injuries to Tyson and Blackstock he could easily have been replaced. However, he stuck to his job and got the reward in the end. The referee had the final say, with a second yellow card for over-celebrating his first goal for the club and a red card.

Plenty of players impressed in the first half but MOTM to Gunter for performing throughout the game with his usual determination and energy. With Anderson tiring and then Garner playing in-field, he continued to provide width down the right hand side. Camp also took the opportunity to impress having been untroubled for most recent games.
 

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Tags: Games Won, MOTM Chris Gunter

by Simon Hough
... our very own Roving Reporter!

A dismal afternoon from start to finish, we were always going to be in trouble from the minute that the team sheet was revealed. We badly lacked some quality and composure in midfield and resorted to long spells of aimless play more in desperation than expectation of scoring.
Gunter was one of the few players to leave the game with any credit. A series of storming runs down the right hand side doing the job of both defender and winger in the absence of Anderson. He’s now consistently reproducing the fine form from last season. Lynch, Chambers and Morgan were all reasonable without being outstanding but still remain incapable of keeping a clean sheet.

We were a mess in midfield, with a depressing lack of creativity. Moussi spent most of the game getting in McKenna’s way and Cohen drifting into the middle simply compounded matters. For a home game, that’s simply not enough creativity in midfield, just three guys (Tyson apart) there to scrap and work hard for the team.

In the end McGoldrick dropped deep to help out, leaving Earnshaw exposed on his own. Earnshaw headed one chance that looked easier to chest down and volley and scuffed another couple during a minute of madness in their area. He had a frustrating afternoon with very little support and instead of getting any help from the bench found himself being replaced instead.

McGoldrick continues to frustrate at the start of his Forest career. At fault for the Forest goal and whilst looking reasonable in possession away from goal, hasn’t looked dangerous in front of goal so far. In the end found himself stuck out on the right hand side of midfield as Billy threw more strikers at the problem instead of adding some creativity to help them out.

The decision to drop in-form Anderson for Moussi and sticking Cohen on the right hand side of midfield defies belief. I thought we'd moved away from those days as soon as Calderwood left the club. Cohen looks a shadow of last season's top man being asked to play all over the pitch. If Moussi needs games to gain match fitness that Tuesday’s game in the Carling Cup would have been perfect to give McKenna the night off. If Majewski is not available then surely McGugan is next in line not Moussi. On the evidence of his Forest career so far, Moussi should be considered as McKenna’s backup and no more. As usual, we seem to worry too much about stopping the opposition and not getting on with our own game. Davies’s post-match comments that we picked a team to combat Blackpool’s strengths were just laughable. We should be worrying about the problems that we can cause the opposition and not the other way around. Typically for this season, just as we started to cause Blackpool some problems, we gifted them a goal. McGoldrick gave Moussi no chance in midfield, leaving Adam to run straight past our midfield and defence and score with ease past Camp. We created a few half chances but the final efforts on goal left a lot to be desired. Too often their keeper made a routine save without having to exert himself. Whenever we got the ball wide and caused them problems, we lacked bodies in the box to take advantage. Camp had no chance with the goal due to the failings of the defence and midfield in front of him. One quality save early in the second half prevented things from getting even worse when the defence failed to clear again. The defence weren’t that bad but were rarely threatened. MOTM

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Tags: Games Lost, MOTM Chris Gunter