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Tyson Wins it But is KO'd Again

Tyson: Hamstring
By The Daily Red
February 16 2008
Nathan Tyson smashed home a fantastic winner as Forest close the gap on second placed Doncaster. But it was a poor display from the home side, whose celebrations will be tainted by yet another injury to this afternoon’s match-winner. Here is the match summary and alternative report.

A dour first half passed almost without incident as both sides struggled to take hold of the game.

It was a scrappy affair in the early stages with little meaningful possession for either side, and this was to set the tone for the remainder of the afternoon.

Nathan Tyson forced the first chance as he closed down the Swindon keeper’s clearance and nearly reached the looping rebound.

It was nearly 20 minutes before Forest’s next chance, during which time Wes Morgan disappeared for over 10 minutes to receive treatment for a head injury.

Lewis McGugan’s close range free kick struck the wall; his rebounded effort forced a nervous save from the keeper.

But the bumper crowd had nothing to shout about until the 50th minute, when Nathan Tyson latched on to Matt Lockwood’s through ball and lashed the ball in at the near post.

Tyson’s strike proved to be the decider as Swindon failed to threaten the Forest goal, but the attacking pressure subsided shortly after Forest took the lead.

A series of bizarre refereeing decisions awoke the crowd late on, but the biggest cheer was reserved for news of Liverpool’s loss to Barnsley in the FA Cup.

 

COMMENT

 

 

I don’t think any Forest supporter would mind if the club returned to the Championship with ugly victories. Ultimately what matters is escaping League One, which is paramount to the club’s future.

What worries me is that I just don’t see ugly performances like today’s taking us out of the division.

We played Swindon Town, pace-setters only when it comes to being a shining example of a dour mid-table side.

They are not particularly big or physical, not especially fast, not exceptionally hard working or good at keeping the ball. This is hardly an occasion where we can reflect on having adapted our game for a tough opposition, rather more it is an example of our well-rehearsed mediocrity.

Once again for 20 minutes of a match we looked a reasonable proposition. For the majority of the game we struggled to string together a series of passes, we didn’t make use of the space or the channels, and the movement was poor.

As a team, we do not look a good side – even at home. On Tuesday evening at Leeds Kelvin Wilson embarked on a mad dash late on in the first half. It had our wingers surging forward and eventually we won a promising free kick. It summed up the way we play.

We wait around for a moment of individual brilliance to somehow weave together what is otherwise unforgivably incoherent.

I didn’t expect otherwise, but I was also frustrated by the disappearance of the hunger and pride that underpinned an excellent effort at Elland Road.

Many will have heard the recap of Swindon’s last visit to the City Ground whilst driving to the game (7-1 victory). Our opponents were exceptionally bad that afternoon, but we set out to attack and dismantle them – with resounding success.When do we ever do that now?

Our dire away form and our startlingly consistent mediocrity at the City Ground are a major concern for me, because we just aren’t improving.

Earlier in the season I was excited by the fact that we had players with a real capability to break ruthlessly. With Lennon anchoring, Cohen, Clingan and Commons would surge forward and opposing defenders would fall weak at the knees.

I had anticipated that, as the side settled down, these counter-attacking flashes would spawn a side capable of turning the rest of the league into a procession behind us. It just hasn’t materialised.

Disappointing, mind-numbingly boring, and not at all promising for the remainder of the season. But it is three points nonetheless.

We require a hero’s performance on Tuesday and a very positive result. Negativity, caution, and ‘okay’ results are no longer going to be enough.

 

Ratings:

 

Smith – 7

Chambers – 5.5 – struggled with their winger at times, as he did in their back yard a few weeks ago.

Morgan – 7.5 – superb performance; composed, strong, and always in control of the ball. Sometimes he shows signs of being an intelligent defender, just not often enough. And would it be too cheap of me to say that I’m used to him disappearing for 15 minutes each game, but not quite as literally as today…?

Wilson [c] – 7.5 – another excellent display from one of the league’s best central defenders.

Lockwood – 5 – super ball for Tyson to create the goal and often in plenty of space, but scarcely involved. He was found wanting defensively again, despite one or two good challenges.

Clingan – 5 – a very poor performance. Almost every pass went astray.

McGugan – 5.5 – not a vintage display, which has been happening a lot lately. He really does need to keep it simple, although he would be helped greatly if our wingers showed more enterprise and gave him a target.

Commons – 6 – occasional good touches and clever runs, but he really does belong over on the left wing. If he returns to spending 80 minutes scratching his arse and 10 minutes playing good football then it will be worth it for the 10 minutes.

Cohen – 5.5 – not as involved as he is when roving box-to-box in the centre. Why oh why does Colin meddle so repeatedly with ideas that have previously failed?

Agogo – 7.5 – an excellent example of how he plays the game. Traps the ball with his back to goal, spreads it wide and makes himself available in a good position. Simple, but very effective. Unfortunately, as with the Ghanaian national side, there was a total lack quality deliveries to meet his runs.

Tyson – 7 – a much-needed goal on the back of an excellent performance. What’s that they say about sod’s law?

Substitutes:

Davies – 5 – when the ball is on the left, he’s hiding on the right. When the ball is on the right, he’s hiding on the left. Reminds me of a nervous lad playing for the school team for the first time.

Sinclair – 5 – pok pok pok pok pok. Harsh, but honest. 

Perch – 4 – again, why?

 

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