A dramatic, and controversial, afternoon at the City Ground ended all-square as Nottingham Forest drew 2-2 with Brentford.
After a dismal performance at Arsenal, Forest responded with an excellent start on the banks of the Trent. They should have been ahead at the break - they certainly had the chances - but boos rang out at half-time as the officials were jeered for some controversial decisions.
Gibbs-White put the Reds in front with an excellent solo goal after 20 minutes. Brennan Johnson and Emmanuel Dennis also had chances.
READ MORE: Re-live the action from the City Ground
READ MORE: Cooper names Forest team to face Brentford
The first half became a tale of penalties given and not given, however. Dennis felt he should have had one when clipped by Mathias Jensen as he tried to make the most of a terrific run. And VAR checked for a shove on Ryan Yates by Josh Dasilva but nothing was given.
By contrast, at the other end of the pitch, after a lengthy VAR stoppage, referee Andre Marriner was sent to his pitchside monitor when Dean Henderson came out to try to thwart Yoane Wissa. The Reds goalkeeper did appear to brush the Brentford man’s shin - after he had got a hand on the ball - but any contact was incredibly light and his opponent was already going to ground. Nevertheless, Marriner pointed to the spot and Bryan Mbeumo made no mistake.
Forest had another penalty claim dismissed in the second half when Gibbs-White looked to have been tripped. Again, appeals were waved away, and the Bees went on to take the lead when Wissa clipped the ball over the on-rushing Henderson.
The hosts snatched a point right at the death, however, when Zanka put the ball into his own net. Here’s how Reds reporter Sarah Clapson rated the Forest players at the City Ground.
Dean Henderson: Was, understandably, livid for the penalty decision given against him. Forest being caught out by a ball over the top for the second also will not have gone done well. Rating: 5.5/10
Serge Aurier: Generally did okay. Pretty solid defensively and tried to get forward when he could. Was overworked when Brentford put numbers down that flank. Rating: 6/10
Steve Cook: Guilty of a few errors, which Brentford were all too eager to pounce on. Both centre-backs were caught out by the ball over the top for the second, but it wasn’t as though Henderson had lots of saves to make. Rating: 5.5/10
Scott McKenna: First half, the back line was pretty stoic. They came under pressure after the break, however, and mistakes started to creep in. Rating: 5.5/10
Neco Williams: Justified the decision to bring him back into the XI. Contributed some good work defensively and generally used the ball well. Rating: 6/10
Cheikhou Kouyate: Made some decent surging runs in the first half and helped provide the back four with decent protection. Midfield didn’t get a grip on the game at the start of the second half, however. Rating: 6/10
Ryan Yates: Looked to have a good penalty claim turned down. Caused problems right at the end as the Reds pushed to get something from the game. Rating: 6/10
Remo Freuler: Showed some nice touches in the first half when the hosts were very much on top. Forest’s sloppy second halves are an issue which quickly need addressing, though. Rating: 6/10
Morgan Gibbs-White: What a way to get his first goal for the club. Outstanding solo effort. Was central to most of Forest’s positive play, too. Rating: 8/10
Emmanuel Dennis: Slight tweak to how the forward trio lined up had worked well to begin with. Worked hard but struggled to control the ball at times. Rating: 6/10
Brennan Johnson: Had been really lively and threatening in a first half where Forest played really well. Got into some good positions after the break, but couldn’t always get the final ball right. Rating: 7/10
Subs
Lewis O’Brien (for Kouyate, 66mins): Quickly got stuck in and did his best to get Forest going. Rating: 6/10
Taiwo Awoniyi (for Dennis, 78mins): Might have done better with a header in added time which he put well over. Rating: 6/10
Jesse Lingard (for Freuler, 78mins): Helped the hosts keep the pressure on as they tried to snatch a point. Rating: 6/10
Sam Surridge (for Cook, 89mins): Added some energy in the closing stages. Rating: 6/10
Subs not used: Hennessey, Worrall, Mangala, Boly, Lodi.
Who was your Forest man of the match? Have your say in the comments below
READ NEXT:
