If you watched the highlights of this one on the Football League Show, it looked much better than I remember it. It was a mostly scrappy game, and despite the five-goal scoreline, there weren’t that many chances for most of the match.
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Ipswich tried to draw first blood when Jason Scotland had too much room but could only hit it wide, but Forest’s attempted retaliation saw Moose’s 20-yarder go straight at visiting custodian David Stockdale. The match was notable for soft goals conceded from set-pieces, with ex-Forest target Danny Collins capitalising twice for Ipswich, and Robbie Findley and Joel Lynch for the Reds. Marcus Tudgay’s winner was also the product of some dreadful defending, allowing the forward all the time and space to nod home in stoppage time.
Despite the poor defending, lots of credit has to be given for the quality of the crosses; Lewis with a ball into the danger zone which fooled Stockdale, Greg Cunningham with a cross that Ipswich just couldn’t defend at the death, and most of all, an absolute peach from Andy Reid which set up Joel Lynch’s header.
A word for a few people: Tudders (or “Tuggy” as the players call him) never stopped working, often dropping deep to find the ball, and really deserved his goal. Steve Cotterill deserves credit for the double substitution that saw us play with a proper winger for the first time in ages (welcome back Ando), and moved Lewis from his ineffectual role on the left into the centre of the park where he started to control matters. You can insert your own joke about Andy Reid adding width to the midfield, but the still-a-bit-tubby-but-now-considerably-slimmed-down Irishman showed that talent is God-given, and I defy you to find a better cross anywhere this weekend.
At the risk of sounding like a stuck record, the final word has to go to Joel Lynch. Sure, he made a mistake when a miscommunication with Campo gave away a corner from which Ipswich scored, but the munchkin was once again outstanding at the back, set up Robbie Findley’s goal with a good knockdown, and scored a superb goal himself. Best of all was how pleased the big man looked when he got his first goal in the Garibaldi. Once again my man of the match, and once again, surely Forest’s best and most consistent performer so far this season. If nothing else, in the absence of Chrissy Cohen, he has become my new Forest man-crush.
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Comments
Excellent result at the weekend despite the same old ‘defending set pieces’ problem. One thought- is Chambers always going to get the nod in any position because he’s the captain?
That remains to be seen – once G-Man and Ando are fit again, Gunts will surely return to RB – out of the back four, Chambo is surely the most vulnerable (although in fairness, he is the one playing out of position at the moment).