Alarm bells ring as Forest suffer another collapse
THE brutal reality has hit for Nottingham Forest. Despite spending all that money in the summer, they still look a long way short of being a competitive top-flight outfit.
Results such as that six-goal thrashing at the hands of Manchester City and the home defeat by Tottenham are all part of the elite learning curve.
But when you’re tossing away leads to lose to Bournemouth, as they did a fortnight ago, and here against Fulham, then alarm bells have to be clanging very loudly.
Despite leading thanks to Taiwo Awoniyi’s early header, Forest never looked comfortable and they were blown away by three Fulham goals in the space of six tumultuous minutes just after half-time.
Forest were sliced open and outsmarted with embarrassing ease as Tosin Adarabioyo nodded in from a corner, Joao Palhinha slammed home a second and Harrison Reed scored his first Fulham goal in his 81st appearance.
There was hope when Lewis O’Brien pulled one back but Forest deserved nothing. Steve Cooper has much to think about over the international break.
After a fortnight stewing over how his team chucked away a two-goal lead at the Vitality, Cooper made three changes for this meeting with another club promoted with them in May.
Out went captain Joe Worrall, who hadn’t missed a league fixture when fit for a long, long time, and in came Willy Boly. Jesse Lingard and Cheikhou Kouyate got the chop with Remo Freuler and Awoniyi replacing them.
Cooper has stunning luxury of choice. Forest signed 22 players over the summer, so theoretically any poor performance could see you dumped out the team.
Fulham boss Marco Silva introduced the tall, lean figure of Issa Diop into the centre of his defence, with Tim Ream pushed out to left back. Willian, one of the more surprising Premier League signings of the summer, made his full debut.
Fulham made the brighter start but they trailed on 11 minutes. Morgan Gibbs-White swung in a dangerous corner that Ryan Yates met as he soared over the Fulham defenders. But he couldn’t direct the header goalwards, instead diverting it to the back post where the alert Awoniyi justified Cooper’s decision to start him with a header of his own. Fulham were stung by the goal but reacted well. Given the form Aleksandar Mitrovic is in, they’re always threatening whenever they can get him on the ball.
The visitors felt aggrieved when Willian was played through by Mitrovic, with the 34-year-old outpacing the 31-year-old Steve Cook before the Forest man grabbed his shoulders and dragged him down just outside the box.
Referee Jarred Gillett decided Cook didn’t qualify as the last man, producing only the yellow card, and replays suggested Boly was covering.
From a Fulham corner moments later, Mitrovic’s glancing header was blocked by Dean Henderson at the near post to keep Forest ahead at the break.
Forest almost doubled their lead within seconds of the restart when Gibbs-White set Brennan Johnson clear but the forward’s touch let him down. That would prove costly when Fulham equalised with their first set-piece of the second half. While Forest’s defenders concentrated on blocking off Mitrovic, Adarabioyo took the scenic route from the back of the box to meet Willian’s corner and plant a header into the bottom corner.
Forest had dedicated too many resources to stopping one big man, they neglected another.
The turnaround was complete three minutes later — and in breathtaking fashion. Willian again was the architect down the right, running forward before finding Kenny Tete. The defender had the vision to spot Palhinha lurking on the edge of the box and the ball was hit sweetly and screeched into the top corner.
The City Ground, in full cry just minutes earlier, was well and truly silenced and it got even better for Fulham a couple of minutes later.
This time it was Bobby De Cordova-Reid showing intent down the left side and his cutback seemed to miss everyone out until Reed arrived and skimmed home to end his Fulham goal drought.
Forest looked buried but substitute O’Brien gave them hope after Johnson’s cross was cleared to him but Fulham held on.