Nottingham Forest will have to settle for a place in the play-offs after falling to defeat against AFC Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium on Tuesday night.
Kieffer Moore’s 83rd minute winner proved to be the difference between the two sides and secured the Cherries’ place back in the Premier League. Forest will now have to wait to see who they face in the play-offs at the end of the season.
Steve Cooper 's side went into the game against Bournemouth knowing that a win would have put them one step closer to the Premier League. Ahead of the match, Bournemouth were three points ahead of Forest with a worse goal difference. The gap is now however insurmountable with one game of the normal season left to play.
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With so much riding on the match at the Vitality Stadium, there was a lot of interest, with the national media gathering to take in the spectacle. Here’s what they made of the game and Forest’s chances in the play-offs.
The Guardian, Nick Ames
Steve Cooper’s players may well return their club to the top, for the first time since 1999, through the playoffs and it would be one of the season’s most thrilling stories. Had Sam Surridge not struck the bar after nine minutes, and had they been awarded a penalty before half-time when the striker was incorrectly ruled offside as Mark Travers clipped him, history might have been reshaped.
Ultimately both sides got what, on the night and across the full campaign, they deserved. Bournemouth emerged from the interval an entirely different proposition and dominated the second half, at least until an eight-minute period of stoppage time that saw the Forest keeper Brice Samba advance for a corner and flick narrowly over. Their winner was wonderfully worked and conjured its own happy subplot.
The Telegraph, Jeremy Wilson
Forest looked crestfallen, but it is also still not over for Steve Cooper’s team. One of the once great clubs of European football have been out of the English top-flight since 1999 but, having looked like relegation candidates before Christmas, they have finished the season superbly. Even allowing for this set-back, they will be the form team ahead of the season-ending play-offs.
There was already an edge before kick-off. Forest had been unhappy at the game being postponed at just four hours’ notice back in February due to high winds from Storm Eunice, and even submitted a letter of complaint to the Football League.
With Steve Cook at the heart of Forest’s defence and Sam Surridge spearheading their attack, the sight of two former Bournemouth players back on familiar turf provided a further added narrative.
The Daily Mail, Adam Shergold
There was a cup final feel to the occasion with so much at stake and a suitably boisterous atmosphere. That transmitted into a full-blooded opening that unfortunately faded.
Bournemouth had the game's first chance, a cross-cum-shot by Billing that Forest keeper Brice Samba had to touch away.
Down the other end, Bournemouth old boy Sam Surridge came even closer on nine minutes. Djed Spence strode forward into space and slotted the perfect through pass into the Forest forward. Surridge only had Mark Travers to beat but his shot crashed back off the crossbar.
Forest were undoubtedly the better side before half-time, with Brennan Johnson seeing an effort cleared in front of the line by Zemura.
Sky Sports, Dan Long
When the match - which was postponed back in February after damage was caused to the Vitality Stadium by Storm Eunice - got going, it immediately lived up to the hype that had been promised in the build-up; every tackle was jeered, every attack roared on as though it were a play-off final.
As a light drizzle fell upon the south coast, Bournemouth took the game to their visitors, but were soon left with their hearts in their mouths when ex-Cherries frontman Sam Surridge collected a stunning Djed Spence pass and rifled a shot off the crossbar.
