Keiren is spot on for Owls
GOOD goalkeepers step up at the big moments, according to Carlos Carvalhal, and the Sheffield Wednesday head coach was in no doubt that Keiren Westwood had shown his quality when his team needed him the most.
Carvalhal gave his goalkeeper a hug at full-time as a thank you for Westwood’s first-half penalty save from Ross McCormack.
The visitors, who are in the final play-off place, then struck with fantastic strikes from Almen Abdi and Fernando Forestieri to seal a fourth consecutive win and a fifth in a row against struggling Forest.
Carvalhal said: “I told him good goalkeepers are not ones who save 20 times. Good goalkeepers perform when you need them most to do that. Keiren is a fantastic goalkeeper and when the team need him he is there.”
On Abdi, the Portuguese said: “He is training very well. The way that he is training is ‘I must play’. He gave energy to our midfield and we need that at this stage of the season.”
Looking ahead to his side’s next two fixtures, he added: “We need a better atmosphere on Tuesday, better than the previous game. We need more support because Brentford did not play and will be fresh and ready. It’s the same at Leeds as they do not play on Tuesday.”
Westwood’s big moment came in the 27th minute after he had brought down 17-year-old Forest striker Ben Brereton.
The goalkeeper was loudly booed by the home fans for the rest of the match as they were annoyed he was not sent off by referee Andy Madley and by the time he took to prepare himself for the spot-kick.
The supporters were even more annoyed as a minute after Westwood’s save Abdi smashed in a stunning volley. Surprisingly that was the only goal at the break, with Jamie Ward hitting the bar for Forest from 22 yards and home goalkeeper Jordan Smith, on his first start, denying Jordan Rhodes and Forestieri when clean through.
Forestieri then produced his piece of magic early in the second half, swivelling and finding the top corner from six yards in a crowded penalty area.
But Forest responded when Brereton pinched the ball off Vincent Sasso who was trying to shield it out for a goal-kick. The striker laid the ball back to Osborn who somehow squeezed the ball through a crowd of bodies to halve the deficit.
But even with Britt Assombalonga on Forest didn’t threaten as they succumbed to a third straight defeat.
Having seen his side lose their three-match winning run at the City Ground, caretaker boss Gary Brazil felt they were unlucky not to get at least a point.
He said: “The disappointment for me was the second goal. It was a weak goal. But I can’t fault the players’ efforts. We had a real go and were unlucky. Sheffield Wednesday were more savvy in their management of the game.
“You can almost have a goal of the season competition from the goals we are conceding.
“But it’s no good feeling sorry for ourselves. We need to believe in what we are doing.
“Jordan [Smith] did really well for us and looked the part. It was appropriate to give him a chance. We know the quality he has and he showed that.”