In a game that promised to be a fiery encounter, Nottingham Forest and Wolves had to settle for a point each after playing out a 1-1 draw at the City Ground. Brennan Johnson's first half goal was cancelled out by a late Daniel Podence strike as both sides still find themselves in a battle for Premier League survival.
Steve Cooper made five changes to his side that were beat by Newcastle United before the international break. Ryan Yates and Serge Aurier missed out through injury and they were replaced by Neco Williams and Remo Freuler. Other changes included Renan Lodi, Jonjo Shelvey and Andre Ayew dropping to the bench, in came Harry Toffolo, Orel Mangala and Brazilian midfielder Danilo. Julen Lopetegui also made five changes to his side who were defeated by Leeds United. Jonny missed out through suspension and in came Toti Gomes, The other changes came further up the pitch as Joao Gomes, Pedro Neto, Daniel Podence and Raul Jimenez came out for Joao Moutinho, Matheus Nunes, Adama Tarore and Matheus Cunha.
Half way through the first half, it was the visitors who almost took the lead. Nunes sent in a cross from the left side of the pitch and it was met by Cunha and his header came off the crossbar. The Brazilian has only scored one league goal since making a move from Athletico Madrid in January.
The home side then took the lead on the 38 minute mark. After some nice play from former Wolves man Morgan Gibbs-White and Danilo on the edge of the area in a tight space, the Brazilian midfielder then lifted the ball over the Wanderers defence and Johnson was there to meet it and he put the ball through the legs of keeper Jose Sa and pout Forest into the lead. It is an eighth Premier League goal for the 21 year old and he now has three goals in his last three home games.
That was it for the first half and it was the Reds who went into half time with an important lead. Goal scorer Johnson was booked for simulation just minutes before the interval as he thought he won his side a penalty but the referee made the right call and booked the Welshman. Wolves struggled to create many chances in that first half despite seeing a lot of the ball. This resulted in Lopetegui making two attacking changes at the break. Midfielder's Mario Lemina and Moutinho came off for Podence and Pablo Sarabia.
Ten minutes into the second half, the visitors then had a penalty claim denied by referee Chris Kavanagh. It was Traore who went down in the box under defender Felipe but Kavanagh did not see enough in the challenge to warrant a penalty. Following the incident, there was an incident on the touchline involving both sides benches. In the end Forest assistant manager Alan Tate and Wolves assistant Pablo Sanz were both sent off.
Forest then had a chance to potentially kill off the game. Gibbs-White with a fabulous ball to put Emmanuel Dennis through on goal. The Nigerian tried to get it on to his preferred right foot which slowed the attack down and his shot was saved by Sa. There was an option of Gibbs-White as well in the middle but Dennis couldn't seem to find him.
Wolves then found their equaliser seven minutes from time. Ruben Neves sent in a free kick deep into the box. After Felipe headed away, the ball eventually fell to Neto and his deflected shot found its way to Podence who calmly finished past Keylor Navas and sending the away end into raptures. The former Olympiacos man now has six goals for the season and scoring his first since January.
The match finished level and both sides are still in the battle to survive. Forest are now without a win in seven games and sit 14th, just two points above the bottom three. It is now no win in three for Wanderers after beating Tottenham Hotspur in early March. They sit just above Forest in 13th and are three points clear of 18th place Leicester City. Next up for the Reds is a trip to Leeds United on Tuesday night for a massive fixture at the bottom end of the table and they will be looking to do the double over them after beating the Whites in February. Wolves next host an out of form Chelsea where a win would take them further away from the bottom three.
No comments:
Post a Comment