Victory is fillip for Philippe...
AFIRST win in seven league games brought a smile back to Philippe Montanier’s face, but Nottingham Forest’s manager admits he still wants more after yet again failing to keep a clean sheet.
Frenchman Montanier was under pressure following six games without a win, but the mood around the City Ground was eased with this win over Birmingham.
Eric Lichaj gave the hosts a half-time lead before goals from substitutes Apostolos Vellios and Hildeberto Pereira came either side of a Lukas Jutkiewicz header that had briefly given Birmingham hope.
Nicklas Bendtner was stretchered off and needed oxygen shortly after half-time after colliding with Michael Morrison, but that wasn’t the only sour note for Montanier who is still waiting for a first Forest shutout this season.
“It was an important win, because we had been having some bad moments,” said Mon tanier, who watched the game from the stands as he served the first of a two-match touchline ban.
“The staff and players were very focused to apply what we had worked on. We showed real character. In the end we were solid physically and mentally.
“It is a good sign for the future. I am very happy, because we needed the points. It felt like there was a lot at stake for us.
“I am a little disappointed, because we did not keep a clean sheet and I felt we deserved one. Maybe we will get one in the next game.”
After a tense opening half hour, the hosts went ahead on 33 minutes when right-back Lichaj chested Bendtner’s ball and touched it past Jacques Maghoma before unleashing a powerful half volley into the left corner of Adam Legzdins’ net.
Bendtner was stretchered off on 57 minutes but Forest still looked dangerous, Mustapha Carayol going on a mazy run before testing Legzdins from the left corner of the penalty area.
That forced a corner and when Birmingham failed to clear, the ball came back out to Henri Lansbury and his whipped cross was stabbed home at close-range by Bendtner’s replacement Vellios on 63 minutes.
Birmingham came back into the game at this point. After David Davis had stung the palms of Vladimir Stojković from distance, a Ryan Shotton cross was headed home at the back post by Jutkiewicz with 20 minutes remaining.
However, they failed to fashion a clear chance for an equaliser and on 83 minutes Pereira ran at the Blues defence, played a one-two with Ben Osborn and slotted home a third.
Birmingham boss Gary Rowett said: “It was frustrating in different ways. The first thing and the most important thing is that we were nowhere near the standard we have set this season.
“In the first half in particular, we were very, very poor. We did not get any passing going and we were too predictable.
“Forest caused us problems early on, but we did settle down and get into some reasonable positions. But we did not turn that into a shot or a chance.
“We did much better in the second half and we got it back to 2-1. We knew that Forest had conceded a lot of goals in the final stages of games. We knew that we could exploit that – and we should have done.”