4 hours ago
8
It seemed, for the briefest of moments, that it was finally Vítor Pereira and Nottingham Forest’s day. Dan Ndoye, the half-time substitute, had burst into the area after the hour-mark and sidefooted perfectly, prompting an explosion of relief at the City Ground.
But the joy at taking the lead against Fulham was swiftly snuffed out as the goal was disallowed by the video assistant referee, denying a side that has struggled so much with the final touch all season. Pereira’s excruciating run continues, still waiting for his first Premier League victory this campaign. He has just four points from his 14 matches in charge of Wolves and Forest.
For now, Forest will have to look on the bright side. A draw took them out of the bottom three, but only goal difference is keeping them above West Ham. They can’t just rely on Tottenham’s ongoing meltdown.
Both sides entered in a downbeat mood. Forest went down 1-0 against Midtjylland in the Europa League on Thursday; Fulham spurned the opportunity of reaching an FA Cup quarter-final with their defeat by Southampton last Sunday. Marco Silva’s teams find themselves in a familiar place: milling around mid-table, falling just short of a serious cup adventure, still waiting for a return to Europe.
Silva had Harry Wilson, his leading goalscorer, available again after two games out with an ankle injury. Pereira made a tweak to the team that held Manchester City to a 2-2 draw at the Etihad, welcoming back Callum Hudson-Odoi on the right wing to take on Antonee Robinson.
The opening exchanges were largely sedate, Forest looking nervy, Fulham comfortable without venturing into the final third. Elliot Anderson was the one man providing urgency in red, even if his execution was missing: moments after sending a corner straight out of bounds, the England midfielder burst through the lines by latching on to an Igor Jesus knockdown. He cut across Calvin Bassey inside the area but dragged his shot comfortably wide of Bernd Leno’s goal.
As ever with Forest this season, the finish was missing, Wolves the only side to have scored fewer goals in the league. It wasn’t there again when Forest put together their best move of the first half. Morgan Gibbs-White’s backheel on the left found the onrushing Neco Williams, with his cutback meeting Nicolás Domínguez at the edge of the area. Trying to precisely find the bottom left corner, the Argentinian lacked the power to beat Leno.
Pereira, meanwhile, watched without a poker face, leaping in frustration when Igor Jesus failed to control an Anderson pass before the half-hour mark. No wonder that Forest emerged after the break with a different template. Gibbs-White moved central and was accompanied by two new widemen, Omari Hutchinson and Ndoye brought on to stretch the seams.
Ndoye was immediately effective, running in behind to seize upon a ball over the top by Williams. Bassey bundled him over, Sam Barrott pointed to the spot, but the linesman’s raised flag saved the visitors. Ola Aina went close to a stunner before the hour-mark, the right-back walloping with his left foot from the edge of the area to smash the crossbar.
The celebrations finally arrived when Ndoye, in the 63rd minute, ran in behind, collecting again from Williams, knocking it past Leno, the clinical edge finally there. Out came VAR to spot the barest of offsides, the left heel beyond the line. Fulham very nearly made thing worse seconds later when Rodrigo Muniz chested and smashed a volley towards goal. Oina was the saviour, his headed block clearing the danger.
Taiwo Awoniyi would come closest late on but there was a surprise when Gibbs-White was replaced in the 74th minute. “You better not be saving him for Thursday,” screamed a supporter, followed by a few more expletives. Forest’s struggles continue.
