Nottingham Forest 1-2 Wolves
For Nottingham Forest, this was an absolute must win game if they were to have any chance at all of gatecrashing the playoffs.
I The first half demonstrated this my miles as Wolves for the most part were camped inside their own half.
But for all their possession there was only one superb save from Ikeme that was of any significance as he tipped wide from Mancienne from about 30 yards out.
There were a couple of chances where Akpom headed well over from a free kick and Gardner smashing a shot well over from 25 yards out.
Before all this Ikeme had got lucky when Antonio charged down his clearance which thankfully went wide.
After so long out and lacking match fitness these kind of things were to be expected but he recovered well from the initial mistake and once again, didn’t put a foot wrong afterwards.
Wolves chances were few and far between in the opening half of the game with a rocket from Sako going out of corner in the first minute and Dicko having a shot cleared off the line by Lichaj after his and Afobe’s initial shots had both been blocked.
But it was the second half where Wolves came alive.
No more than Afobe who ran from the half way line completely unchallenged to stroke the ball into the bottom right of Darlo’s goal within the opening minute of kick off.
Suddenly things were completely different and although Forest had to go for it, Wolves’ tactical organisation was superb as it had been against Derby before the international break.
Apart from Antonio smacking the ball into the side netting from an angle and Gardner not managing to get hold of the ball unmarked 6 yards out there wasn’t that much danger.
When Sako was hacked down by Lansbury, in what has to be the most stonewall penalty decision of the season, the chance to effectively wrap the game up was there.
Sako stepped up to take it after scoring with a cheeky chip down the middle in the same circumstances for Mali midweek, and this time placed the ball to Darlo’s right for 2-0.
As a contest it was game over with Forest unable to break Wolves down and with Blackstock getting a consolation in the last minute of injury time, the only people bothered would be the players who’s clean sheet bonus were put on hold for another game.
As Wolves fans sang “we’ve ended your season, **** off and go home” the whistle blew for full time with Forest’s faint play off hopes all but over.
Wolves on the other hand are now right in the mix for end of season honours with just 6 games remaining.
Leave a Comment