Sky duo praise the Reds’ response

SKY Sports pundits Mick Mccarthy and Jobi Mcanuff praised Nottingham Forest for their second-half performance in the draw against Luton Town.

The Reds were 1-0 down at half-time after Glen Rea’s 22nd-minute opener and it got worse for Chris Hughton’s men when Nicholas Ioannou was sent off after a tackle on Martin Cranie late in the first half.

However, while it seemed like a difficult task, Forest did come back to take a point from the game after Rea turned into his own net.

And the attitude shown by the players to get back into the game has been praised by pundits, who picked out one key player.

“They started the second half really well,” Mccarthy told Sky Sports.

“I thought Luton would go for it and overrun them. They didn’t and Nottingham Forest thoroughly deserved a point.

“They passed it well and pressed when they could.

“I was disappointed with Luton. I’m delighted for Chris. He stays unbeaten.

“I thought Ryan Yates was excellent, the two of them against Luton’s three.

“He didn’t score but he made it. I was disappointed in Rea because he was content on trying to stop him heading rather than clearing it.”

Mcanuff outlined the change in mentality that came with playing against 10-men for Luton, something that benefitted Forest in the second half.

“It’s amazing how the mentality can change when you’re against 10 men. In the first half Luton had an intensity and were getting about Forest,” he said.

“They seemed to drop off a bit. Maybe they felt they didn’t need to press with the extra man.

“At half-time, you want to see them move the ball quick. Forest got into two banks of four.

“The quality into the box for me sums up Forest in the second half. Ryan Yates made that goal by being aggressive and putting Rea under pressure. That was the difference.”