FOREST FLY AS BRITT GOES IN FOR SECONDS
BRITT Assombalonga grabbed the headlines but it was Nottingham Forest’s much-criticised backline that put in a champagne performance to toast both their first clean sheet and first away victory with a win at Ipswich Town.
The striker grabbed the opening goal after just 17 seconds following some half-hearted defending from the home side, who had initially kicked off.
Assombalonga then scored a crucial second in first-half injury-time when more horrendous defending allowed the forward to nip in and head home from close range.
Forest boss Philippe Montanier paid tribute to his striker who was taken off after 56 minutes as a precaution – while the manager revealed his unusual preparations to end their dire defensive run.
Montanier revealed: “It was my birthday on Tuesday so I gave my players a glass of champagne after training.
“I asked them for three points for my birthday so I must thank them for this present.
“We played well against Reading and QPR but we were more clinical than we have been.
“We also had a great siege mentality when they pushed us back in the second half.
“Britt is a very important player for us and makes a real difference. This will give him confidence but we still have to be careful with him.”
Assombalonga showed his undoubted class as some fans were still settling into their seats when he latched onto Simon Osborn’s cushioned through ball and promptly handed Forest a stunning start.
As with the first, Ipswich’s defending was dire for the second goal on the eve of halftime when Matt Mills’ header dissected the statuesque backline and Assombalonga ghosted in to score.
In between, Ipswich’s best chance of the match fell to David McGoldrick when his excellent run and shot was thwarted by a brilliant diving save from Vladimir Stojkovic.
The second half saw a more attacking home side boss posses-Assombalonga sion but without truly testing the Forest goal.
Indeed, it was the visitors who created the best chances on the break with man of the match Pajtim Kasami smashing the outside of the post and Apostolos Vellios testing Bartosz Bialkowski after yet more haphazard home defending.
And Ipswich boss Mick McCarthy admitted his side’s afternoon only got worse after had pounced within seconds.
He said: “It was an allround bad day at the office. There couldn’t have been many more awful goals conceded than their first – I didn’t expect them to get such a fast start.
“And the second goal was also abysmal, coming just before half-time. We made a catalogue of mistakes for both goals and they capitalised. “We rallied in the second half but it was always going to be difficult to go through them. “For a team who had seven clean sheets in 11 games, there is no chance of us getting a clean sheet playing like that.” Ipswich had a couple of penalty shouts waved away as Tom Lawrence weaved his way into the area – but they were halfhearted at best, much like the apathetic boos that rung round Portman Road at the final whistle, as Ipswich failed to build on their shock victory over Sheffield Wednesday last time out.
Forest, meanwhile, will hope a deserved clean sheet and a number nine back to his best signals a turning point.