Reds rue missed chances as Hatters leave it late
NOTTINGHAM Forest were left to rue missed chances as they conceded a last-minute equaliser to draw 1-1 away against relegation rivals Luton Town.
The Reds had to survive an early spell of pressure as Ross Barkley had a hat-trick of chances inside the opening 12 minutes.
It was a warning sign for the visitors but they took it on board and forged a couple of opportunities of their own.
Both of those chances fell to Divock Origi, with Reece Burke clearing one of them off the line.
Nevertheless, the breakthrough came soon after.
Lovely link-up play between Morgan Gibbs-white and Neco Williams saw the former play the ball towards the back post, where Chris Wood supplied a terrific finish to make it 1-0 with 34 minutes played.
Forest had a couple of big let-offs just before the break. Williams made a last-ditch clearance to thwart one attack, then when Luton did put the ball in the net it was ruled out for a handball by Teden Mengi.
The Reds had opportunities to extend their lead after the restart.
Gibbs-white tried his luck and Elanga was denied by a goalline clearance from Mengi.
Just past the hour, it needed a strong save from Thomas Kaminski to thwart a shot from Murillo from well inside his own half.
Forest were left to rue those missed chances as Luton grabbed a 90th-minute equaliser. A set-piece was once again the Reds’ undoing, with Luke Berry turning the ball home from a corner.
The Reds remain three points ahead of 18th-placed Luton but that could change next week as they face a potential points deduction for breaching financial regulations.
Here is what Reds head coach Nuno Espirito Santo had to say after the final whistle at Kenilworth Road.
■■On the game...
“We dominated the game. We controlled a tough game. It was what we expected, because we knew how hard it is to come here.
“I think we adapted very well to the circumstances, with the way Luton play and the pitch. We created a lot of chances.
“We had a goalline clearance, credit to Luton. But we should have finished the game earlier with the chances we had.”
■■On set-piece issues...
“We look OK on one side but it is always hard.
“It is about concentration, focus and commitment. We had big boys on the pitch to solve the set-piece situation but the problem is in front.
“The game should be over much,
WOOD ON TARGET BUT FOREST HAVE TO SETTLE FOR A POINT
much earlier. That is why I’m a little bit frustrated, because this is happening to us sometimes – so many chances without finishing and putting the game to bed. It is costing us.”
■On Taiwo Awoniyi’s injury...
“He had a problem during the week. It is a big blow for us, a big blow. I don’t know how long he will be out for.”
■On whether it was a good point...
“I’m disappointed because I think we did enough to take three points.
“Let’s wait and see what is going to happen with the decision (over breaching Profitability and Sustainability Rules). We keep on going, keep on fighting. We have nine games to go, nine finals to play to put it right.
“We are in this fight. There is a lot of football to be played. No team can say it is totally fine now. Let’s see what’s happening.
“We have to focus on ourselves. Our players will go to their international teams, hopefully we can recover some bodies and go strong for the nine games ahead of us.”
■On fans being frustrated...
“Of course I understand the fans are frustrated, as we are. You can see in the dressing room we are frustrated because we did enough to take three points.
“This is how it goes. We are frustrated now but we bounce back and go again, and we expect the support of our fans of course.”