BRICE NOT RIGHT
Keeper cops blame as Olise torments 10-man Forest
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CHRIS HUGHTON refused to blame red-carded Ryan Yates after Brice Samba’s howler led to his early dismissal.
Hughton’s Nottingham Forest side stay deep in relegation trouble after slumping to another defeat that saw them play with 10 men for 75 minutes.
After 15 minutes, man of the match Michael Olise, still only 18, swung in a free-kick that should have been meat and drink for Congo goalkeeper Samba.
But he made a total hash of it under pressure from Tom Holmes. As the Reading player swooped, Yates flicked out a hand on the line to keep the ball out. Yates got his marching orders, Lucas Joao tucked away the penalty for his 14th goal of the season and the match was over after Michael Morrison added a second-half header.
Hughton said: “I feel sorry for Yatesy because he has been put in a position where he has a decision to make – and it was instinctive. There is no blame attached to him.
“The goalkeeper has to deal with it. After that it was very difficult.
“Anything said will stay in the changing room, but it is there to see. We also had the best chance of the game before they scored – but we are not scoring enough goals.”
Reading boss Veljko Paunovic was emotional after finally meeting 2,000 ecstatic Reading fans in the stadium on a match day – and the win keeps the Royals right up with the pace-setters.
He said: “I am feeling great – back to winning ways and having the fans back. “I was emotional being able to clap the fans, I can’t believe the reception I got from them meeting them for the first time.
“We felt the warmth and support from the warm-up.
“Michael is supertalented and had a very good game today.
“We want to help him learn, mature and get consistency. He must think about what he can be.”
OFF YOU GO Referee Gavin Ward shows a red card to Forest’s Ryan Yates for handling the ball