Nottingham Forest v Derby County

[bcnram]

Their goal - I actually got a really good view of how their goal came about, and it was nothing to do with Shotton, Buxton, Keogh or whoever. Forsyth made a run down the left hand side of the pitch but saw it come to nothing, he slowly went to move back into position but the Forest players caught him out. Bryson, ideally, should have covered but had a moment of laziness and Eustace ran out of position to attend to the vacant left-back position. When the ball moved towards the centre of the pitch (where Eustace should have been), the defence and players were all over the place and our system was effectively undone by that initial left-back run. 

 

 

I agree with what happened prior to the ball arriving towards the Derby penalty area, but Derby still had 4 players back with the Forest player heading straight for the area that Buxton was in, and Keogh instead of holding his position ran like a fool out to meet him, abandoning his responsibilities and allowing an easy pass to the player he had just left. Very poor defending which will be pointed out to him at Mondays team meeting. Other than that he had a reasonable game. 

[lukedcfc]

Battling performance in a low quality game, very happy with a point, fair result!

Grant - Made some good saves and commanded area well.

Shotton - Struggled badly Antonio who was excellent had him for breakfast it was worrying me at times Christie to start on Wednesday please.

Keogh - Quality from our captain easily his best game this season.

Bucko - Struggled all game to keep Assombalonga at bay and got sent off which made us defend when we could have gone for it!

Forysth - Back to his best today with his drives forward and kept Burke quiet, lovely cross for our goal.

Russell - Pretty poor today just doesn't seem fit and he needs a shave! We need to see more from him imo.

Eustace - Early yellow card worried me and he was too slow all game miss Thorne so much.

Hughes - Excellent today he oozes Premier League quality, controlled the 2nd half! MOM

Bryson - Did ok but it all honesty can't remember him doing much in the game.

Dawkins - Poor 1st half but improves loads 2nd half, ran his socks off for the team when we went down to 10 men.

Martin - good game and he held it up well as always.

Best - Excellent when he came on, won headers and battled and worked hard. He needs a goal, shame it went to Shotton.

Calero - Looks a very tricky and neat player, he's a handy player to call upon.

Ibe - I love his directness can't wait to see him start, hopefully wendesday.

[Mafiabob]

Keogh is getting stick for the goal because he once again chased the ball leaving a man completely open on the edge of our area. It was completely unnecessary and went a long way to costing us the goal. Other than that he had a decent game but he has got to stop these schoolboy errors.

So instead of going out to him.... Let the attacker run all the way into the box?

It was a quick break.... It happens....

[bcnram]

So instead of going out to him.... Let the attacker run all the way into the box?

It was a quick break.... It happens....

Absolutely correct. Hold your shape, that is what they train for and another moment of indiscipline from Keogh spoilt an otherwise decent display for him. By running out when he did they simply passed by him to the player he was responsible for.

It's the championship, mistakes happen but he has got to be more disciplined in his play.

[ramsbottom]

Grant - 7

 

Shotton - 4

Buxton - 5

Keogh - 7.5

Forsyth - 7

 

Eustace - 6

Bryson - 4

Hughes - 8

 

Russell - 6

Dawkins - 6

Martin - 6

 

Best - 6

Calero - 6

Ibe - 6

 

I thought we were terrible 1st half but find it laughable they still couldn't fashion a clear cut chance against us.  We were much better in the 2nd half but gifted them the goal by not getting our shape back quickly enough.

[Psycho]

Point was probably fair. Typical derby game - scrappy affair full of cards (though probably not enough) and tackles with very few chances.

 

I thought the ref was poor, should've stamped out the bad treatment Antonio was getting early on. How Shotton escaped a booking I'll never know. He arguably could've gone for constantly fouling before Buxton did. Same with Useless Eustace. Buxton's red was fair as he clearly heard the whistle, hesitated for a second then thundered in with a second tackle. We could've had 2 penalties (1 definite handball in 1st half) as well.

[Martyn]

Right, my take on today's match.

 

[snip]

 

Their goal - I actually got a really good view of how their goal came about, and it was nothing to do with Shotton, Buxton, Keogh or whoever. Forsyth made a run down the left hand side of the pitch but saw it come to nothing, he slowly went to move back into position but the Forest players caught him out. Bryson, ideally, should have covered but had a moment of laziness and Eustace ran out of position to attend to the vacant left-back position. When the ball moved towards the centre of the pitch (where Eustace should have been), the defence and players were all over the place and our system was effectively undone by that initial left-back run. 

 

[snip]

 

Lot's of solid performances, peppered with one or two good performances, but after everything that happened, the players can be happy with a point well won. We also get to retain the only trophy in football that matters   

 

I agree with every word of your post Ambitious, that's just how I saw the game, and particularly the goal (I watched it back numerous times trying to see how we became so exposed).

 

Forsyth was upfield, Eustace covered his player, Keogh came running out to the player and Shotton shuffled across to his man.

 

I think out of those, Keogh is the one only who did anything wrong per se but he had a really good game other than that.

[Srg]

Didn't actually watch the game as I was doing my own management bit all the way out in Buxton, so I couldn't even get phone signal to keep up with the game...

 

But certainly would have taken a point before the game.

 

Was shocked to see Calero had played.

[Daaave]

You'll be even more shocked when you see the one chance he got to run at them  Poor lad was a bit too keen I reckon.

[Ramleicester]

Overall quality of the game was poor but I guess that is down to the passion. The one player that bothered me was Martin he looks lazy when compared to other strikers in the championship. Would love to see him being more dynamic.

Fair result but can't help thinking the next three or four games are important as we need some wins to avoid a tricky gap emerging.

[Srg]

The man can play lying down if he scores and assists as much as he does.

[Shuff264]

Didn't actually watch the game as I was doing my own management bit all the way out in Buxton, so I couldn't even get phone signal to keep up with the game...

 

But certainly would have taken a point before the game.

 

Was shocked to see Calero had played.

We needed to put two wingers on, Ward is of course injured so it had to be him!

 

Him and Ibe didnt do alot but showed good impetus and wanting to run with the ball when they got it

[BondJovi]

Calero did ping a sublime ball into the corner for Best to chase, which he did...and then gave it away. Bless him for falling over in his eagerness, but at least he showed he wanted to impress.

 

Was pleased to see him and Ibe come on, just a shame that the last 10 should have been their time to win us the game. I am certain those two are game changers. The more I think about it, the more I am disappointed in Buxton, I love the passion and desire, but he was being reckless all game. Hughes was fantastic though.

[Daz_The_Ram]

Personally, I'm as pleased as punch with the way the lads dug in and stuck to the task on Sunday. An absolutely supreme display of grit and determination.

It is exactly what  I was expecting... Forest are top of the league, unbeaten, and at home. We had to know that there was a storm to be weathered. It was never going to be pretty.
 

Keogh was the best player on the park, absolutely outstanding ... but I was impressed by all our defending in general ... we worked very hard for each other. Eustace plugged away and did very well after being put in a  really precarious position by that absolute homer of a ref. He couldn't wait to get rid of someone, and it was unlucky for Bucko in the end. How Lansbury stayed on the pitch though i will never know...other than the fact that he was in a red shirt.

Also - I'm not suggesting he played well, it was a difficult afternoon for him, but I am pleased with the way Shotton recovered after a torrid baptism in the first half...could have easily shriveled up and got worse. He dug in well. He is clearly a centre half by trade, filling in at right back...and it showed. Should have done better for the goal - he committed too early, but Asombalonga took it very well...deserved his goal...the ball should not have found it's way to him quite so easily in that kind of space.

Can't help thinking that Christie would have caused havoc as their wing backs were leaving acres of space in behind.

Just as a footnote ... I was again impessed with Best ... he has a good touch, big and strong, and showed good willingness for a player many consider a bit of a prima dona. I would like to see more of him up top in support of Martin.
 

As a performance ... not perfect, in fact far from it - we all know that... but when you come away with a result away from home against the team currently top, in a volatile and spiteful atmosphere, without having played exceptionally well ... it is a sign that you are a very good side indeed.

I'm always glad to get these derby games out of the way. Much of a muchness.
 

Fair result, very encouraging show of heart and desire. Shaping up nicely with a couple more decent results this week..

[RaphaRam]

Not sure if it's been mentioned, but why the **** was Clinton Morrison in the Derby end?

[Daz_The_Ram]

Just as an addition ... if the Forest fans think they are going to finish in the promotion spots with that side ... they are living in cloud cuckoo land.

They have a couple of good players ... Asombalonga is sharp and impressive, as is the winger Antonio. Andy Reid still has plenty of guile and a good range ... but he proved once again that he just simply cannot get himself fit. 

They have nothing in particular other than those three. We started to find them out second half ... Pearce's game plan is as ever based on war paint and tub thumping ... simply not good enough.

Plenty more will do a number on them.

[Duracell]

Daz, I can't believe you thought all our defenders played well - if there was ever a chance to criticise Buxton, it was yesterday. He had a stinker. His distribution was off colour, he was very fortunate not to give away a penalty, he fully deserved that second yellow and I'd even go so far as to say it's his fault Keogh felt compelled to step out of line for the goal.

 

He doesn't look fit for me, still - I like Bucko as much as the next man, but this is the perfect time to try out the Whitbread Keogh partnership again. Buxton needs to cool off and rest that hip.

[Duracell]

In terms of Forest, I think yesterday proved that all things being equal, we're much better than them. They're riding the crest of a wave and they were playing at home - the odds were firmly stacked in their favour.

 

Whether Forest will be up there later in the season I don't know, but the timing and nature of that game means that it will be our trickiest fixture of the season.

 

Far worse teams have finished in the play-offs, mind. They'll be right up there in May, no doubt.

[Psycho]

Just as an addition ... if the Forest fans think they are going to finish in the promotion spots with that side ... they are living in cloud cuckoo land.

They have a couple of good players ... Asombalonga is sharp and impressive, as is the winger Antonio. Andy Reid still has plenty of guile and a good range ... but he proved once again that he just simply cannot get himself fit. 

They have nothing in particular other than those three. We started to find them out second half ... Pearce's game plan is as ever based on war paint and tub thumping ... simply not good enough.

Plenty more will do a number on them.

 

Our defence is better than our attack.

[Daz_The_Ram]

Daz, I can't believe you thought all our defenders played well - if there was ever a chance to criticise Buxton, it was yesterday. He had a stinker. His distribution was off colour, he was very fortunate not to give away a penalty, he fully deserved that second yellow and I'd even go so far as to say it's his fault Keogh felt compelled to step out of line for the goal.

 

He doesn't look fit for me, still - I like Bucko as much as the next man, but this is the perfect time to try out the Whitbread Keogh partnership again. Buxton needs to cool off and rest that hip.

Duracell ... I was talking in the main about the commitment and character that the lads showed as a unit. They had to dig in hard and stuck to it manfully.

I agree of course that Buxton's failings as a footballer were there for all to see yesterday ... gave it away in a panick when pressed hard, and the sending off was just childish.

However, i felt he was part and parcel of a gritty and determined display.

I thought you lot would be pleased if i gave him some credit for once. ;-)