Hughton remains unbeaten, point not a bad result
REDS HAVE NOT CONCEDED IN OPEN PLAY UNDER BOSS
CHRIS Hughton’s unbeaten start as manager continued as 10-man Nottingham Forest fought back for a 1-1 draw away against Luton Town.
The Reds were facing an uphill battle when they were a goal and a man down at the break, with Glen Rea opening the scoring and Nicholas Ioannou sent off.
But, under pressure from Ryan Yates, Rea put the ball in his own net just past the hour to leave it honours even at the full-time whistle.
Forest reporter Sarah Clapson looks at some of the big talking points from the game.
A RED CARD?
Still think it’s debatable. Hughton didn’t have any complaints about it post-match but Ioannou can feel a bit hard done by, nevertheless.
It wasn’t a malicious challenge and he did get the ball. He just also got his man on the follow through with studs showing.
You can see why the referee has given it but a straight red still seems harsh.
Already a goal down, it could have left the visitors with a real problem in the second half but they came out fighting and were actually the better team with 10 men.
SLOW STARTS
The manager took exception to a question about his side struggling with poor first halves followed by better second periods.
He’s got a point in the sense that the Reds were bright in the opening 15 or 20 minutes. They had bundles of energy and played a good pressing game.
It’s conceding the first goal which has been a problem.
Once the Hatters had gone ahead, Forest began to labour. Performance levels dropped and the final 20 minutes of that half were poor.
There’s no question they’ve generally been better in the second half of
games, though, and they were again at Kenilworth Road.
It’s great to have that kind of fighting spirit; if only they could do so without giving the opposition a head start.
TIGHTENING UP
Rea’s opener was a sloppy goal to concede. Disappointingly so.
A corner caused all sorts of problems, wasn’t properly cleared and the Luton man managed to stab it home.
The Reds had more than one opportunity to get the ball away, but instead almost gift-wrapped a chance for the opposition.
That aside, though, Town barely got a look-in – even with a man advantage for 45 minutes.
Brice Samba made an important save right at the death but didn’t have a great deal else to do.
Forest have yet to concede in open play under Hughton. They’ve got to take positives from that.
Set-pieces absolutely need working on but for a side which had lost five in a row this season prior to the new boss’ arrival, making them more resolute had to be a priority. Hughton’s done that. Scott Mckenna, in particular, increasingly looks like a very good bit of business. He’s a big presence at the back.
GOING FORWARD
There’s plenty of attacking talent in this team but getting it all to click is taking time.
At times, it was close, but no cigar at Kenilworth Road. Some decent build-up and good passes which
almost, but not quite, came off.
Clear-cut chances were in short supply.
It wasn’t for the want of trying in that second period, though.
Anthony Knockaert has already shown the potential to be a class act. There was one delightful throughball in the first half which would have put Lyle Taylor through if the goalkeeper hadn’t been quick off his line.
Hughton is perhaps still trying to find his best combination. He also opted not to use his full quota of subs, with Luke Freeman, Alex Mighten and Miguel Angel Guerrero the attacking players to remain on the bench.
After shoring up the back line, getting the best out of the quality attacking players at his disposal is the manager’s next big task.
UNBEATEN RUN
Given the circumstances, a point wasn’t a bad result in the end.
It made it four unbeaten under Hughton and, after the start to the season Forest have had, that’s got to be seen as a step in the right direction.
They are improving in increments. But that was always likely to be the case. Going from first to fifth gear in the space of a few weeks would have been a tough ask for anyone.
There’s still a lot for the manager to work on. The important thing is to keep picking up results while he does that.
It’s still early days. There’s a heck of a long way to go yet.
The Reds had a good start last season but ended up with nothing to show for it. Not lighting up the Championship at this stage isn’t the be-all and end-all.