Nottingham Forest v Scunthorpe United

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Football League Championship

Nottingham Forest :
Camp, Chambers, Morgan, Gunter, Anderson, Cohen, McKenna, Majewski (Moussi 75), Tyson (Lynch 90), Garner (McGoldrick 46), Blackstock.
Subs not used:
Smith, McGugan, Adebola, Earnshaw.

Scunthorpe United :
Murphy (Lillis 63), Williams, Byrne, Jones, Spencer, Togwell (Thompson 77), McCann (Woolford 65), O'Connor, J.Wright, Hayes, Forte.
Subs not used:
Canavan, A.Wright, Sparrow, Morris.

SULSESC REPORT

by Nottingham Evening Post at City Ground

THEY say patience is a virtue and good things come to those who wait.

You can use whatever saying or phrase you like - but this was a win that was a long time coming at the City Ground.

But that does not make it any less deserved, as Billy Davies' side were finally rewarded for their fortitude and endeavour with not only a good performance but also the three points that it merited.

Following successive 1-0 defeats at the hands of Blackpool and Blackburn on this ground, confidence might have been on the wane.

But Davies' constant, unwavering insistence that his side were producing a level of football that had merited more, finally bore credence.

It took almost three-quarters of this match before Scunthorpe's sturdy resistance was finally broken, by a towering header from Luke Chambers.

But the two-goal advantage that Dexter Blackstock's bundled finish provided five minutes later was no more than Forest had deserved.

And, just as concerns had begun to grow about Forest's lowly league position, a second consecutive win lifted them into the heady heights of 14th place - and within a single win of the play-off places.

Davies had fielded an ambitious side with the ability to test the Scunthorpe defence - and they did so with an extended spell of pressure from almost the moment the game kicked-off.

Nathan Tyson forced the first of a flurry of corners after only two minutes, with Blackstock seeing a looping header cleared from the first, Chambers having a near post flick blocked from the second and Blackstock just failing to connect with a third.

With Paul Anderson, Tyson and Joe Garner all playing just off a lone central striker in Blackstock, Forest had plenty of options moving forwards.

Scunthorpe keeper Joe Murphy was tested for the first time as Anderson caressed a cross in from the right to plant the ball perfectly on the head of Garner, who saw Murphy get his body behind his header to save well.

When Radoslaw Majewski delivered a fourth corner into the danger zone before the ten minute mark, Tyson was left holding his head in his hands after glancing a free header wide.

Defender Jordan Spence then earned a booking after smashing full bodied into the back of Garner on the left edge of the Scunthorpe penalty area - and Forest almost added to the punishment with a goal.

Chris Cohen's delivery was angled to the far post where Chambers rose to plant a firm downward header, which Murphy swatted acrobatically off the line.

Garner dipped a fizzing shot narrowly off target from 20-yards and Blackstock forced a straight forward save from Murphy at his near post when he might have done better.

Despite the onslaught on their goal, Scunthorpe's confidence steadily swelled and they began to play some flowing football of their own although, while they often left Forest chasing shadows, they rarely looked threatening.

Paul Hayes did have the Forest defence backing off dangerously on the half hour mark, but he failed to take advantage of the room he was given on the edge of the box as he lashed a shot the wrong side of the post.

Wes Morgan had to make a decisive, diving clearance as Grant McCann threatened to connect with a header at the far post.

But then Forest proved that they could produce some flowing football of their own as a fluid, surging move eventually saw a dangerous Cohen cross cleared for a corner - which was the home side's sixth of the first half.

And, when Majewski again wrapped his foot around the ball, his angled delivery saw Chambers thunder a header into the side netting.

The half finished with a flurry of controversy as keeper Murphy rushed right to the edge of his box to collect a ball fired through the centre by McKenna, with an eagle eyed assistant referee ruling that he had handled outside the box. The furious Scunthorpe stopper earned a booking to further provoke his ire - although he was let off the hook to some degree as the normally predatory Majewski lofted a shot over the bar from 12 yards after McKenna's resulting free-kick had pinballed around the edge of the box.

Murphy was angry for a different reason after the break, as Scunthorpe's ever more fragile defence twice left him exposed.

A poor clearance fell perfectly for Tyson to fire the ball back across goal for Chris Gunter, who was denied his second goal in two matches only by the speed of Murphy's reactions, as the keeper somehow pushed the ball away.

Tyson could again have done better with a header, firing badly wide after being picked out impressively by the energetic Cohen.

Murphy then showed his bravery with a committed, sliding challenge at the feet of Blackstock as the powerful front-man surged into the box but paid the price as he picked up an injury that saw him replaced by Josh Lillis.

Forest substitute David McGoldrick, who had been introduced for Garner at half-time, briefly looked like racing through for a one-on-one with the new keeper, but his touch was even less convincing than his subsequent fall and the ball ran out of play.

And the shots continued to rain in as firstly Tyson and then McGoldrick had efforts blocked by some desperate defending from the battling visitors.

So it was no surprise when Forest finally made the breakthrough, from their tenth corner of the match. The cultured boot of Cohen sent the ball swirling towards the near post where Chambers was arriving like a steam train to smash an unstoppable header under the bar and in.

And, within five minutes it was 2-0 as Anderson's pace took him down the right flank as a tiring Scunthorpe defence struggled to keep up, before cutting the ball decisively across the face of goal, where Blackstock bundled the ball home as Josh Wright desperately tried to clear.

Jonathan Forte came agonisingly close to pulling one back for the visitors as Camp got a hand to his crisp, rising shot, only to see the ball loop over his body and bounce away off the post.

But, unlike their last two outings on home turf, there was no denying Forest the result they deserved.