12 hours ago
6
It never rains but it pours. Nottingham Forest, forced to cut their ticket prices twice this week to entice a capacity crowd back to the City Ground, can’t seem to buy a win at the moment. Twice now they have lost to FC Midtjylland in this competition this season after the substitute Cho Gue-sung further dampened their spirits with the only goal on a night when a second-half deluge was so severe the ball started getting stuck in puddles.
What a muddle Forest find themselves in: above the relegation zone only on goal difference, their fourth manager of the season, Vítor Pereira, is without a win in his five games since an opening triumph in Fenerbahce set up this last-16 window of opportunity. But as the Danish players celebrated with their hardy, bare-chested fans in a small, sodden but voluble corner of the Bridgford Stand, Pereira warned them they are far from home and dry.
“The ball today doesn’t want to obey and to go inside the goal,” the Forest manager said. “I think we had 22 or 23 shots. And – it’s football – they create two chances and they score a goal. But we are in half-time. They didn’t win the [tie]. Because they are celebrating a lot, like they finished the game today. But it’s not finished.”
Yet, as their global head of football, Edu, prepares to clear his desk, a reminder of the succession of poor decisions made over the past 12 months, Forest’s home game with Fulham on Sunday will take priority now as they seek to retain their top-flight status. Pereira, who named his strongest attacking lineup, is adamant his A-listers will have recovered by then. How much they have left in the tank for the trip to Denmark will surely depend on the adrenaline of a good league result.
So nine English teams finish this week with only Aston Villa, who beat Lille in this competition, claiming a win. Forest did have 22 attempts on goal, compared with Midtjylland’s six, and their expected goals was 1.7, double their opponents’, so Pereira was able to praise his players’ efforts wholeheartedly.
Mike Tullberg, whose side won 3-2 here in the group stage in October as Ange Postecoglu’s brief reign turned sour, believes Forest look improved from then. “Without [meaning any] disrespect, they change managers quite a lot over here,” the Midtjylland coach said. “[But] I think Forest were in a better place today than last time we met them. We know that we are not through but still nobody can take away that we beat an English team over here a second time in a row.”
The 300-odd Midtjylland fans may have been making a racket, jumping up and down in unison to the constant beat of a drum, but the action on the field was very quiet for the opening half hour. Pereira asked Callum Hudson-Odoi to attack from left wing-back, with Ola Aina on the other flank, as Forest matched up the visitors’ shape.
It was from Forest’s left that Philip Billing, formerly of Bournemouth, crossed from the byline in the third minute and Júnior Brumado, unmarked, headed past Matz Sels. Murillo cleared off the line, to the home crowd’s relief, but Forest’s consternation was exacerbated when Jair Cunha, an injury doubt before the game, had to go off in the ninth minute after rolling an ankle.
Forest gradually built up a head of steam. Elías Rafn Ólafsson produced a flying save to tip over Omari Hutchinson’s left-foot drive and then kept out Aina’s swerving drive; he was relieved when Igor Jesus spooned a difficult rebound wide. A brilliant long-ranger from Anderson was tipped over, Billing headed Jesus’s effort off the line, before Morgan Gibbs-White’s side-footed effort was deflected wide after Hutchinson’s pullback.
Forest reverted to a back four at half-time, Neco Williams replacing Morato, but Valdemar Andreasen, a Midtjylland substitute, also made an impact, his effort striking the Forest bar. The rain became so torrential but Forest’s misery was complete 10 minutes from time. Ousmane Diao was given time to cross and Aina remained on his heels as Cho sprang in front to head into the bottom corner.
Tullberg was impressed with Forest. “For me, it’s not a team playing against relegation,” he said. “With these players out there, they are a very good Premier League side.”
