WE WERE ROBBED SAY BOTH BOSSES
Reds hit back for a point
BOTH Ipswich manager Paul Lambert and Nottingham Forest boss Martin O’Neill bemoaned refereeing decisions which robbed them of victory.
The draw kept the visitors’ slim hopes of gaining a playoff place alive at the division’s basement club.
Goals came from Collin Quaner in the fifth minute and Forest centre-back Molla Wague just past the half-hour.
Ipswich had gilt-edge chances to pick up only their fourth win of the season, but missed opportunities, two controversial refereeing decisions and superb saves from Forest keeper Costel Pantilimon robbed them of victory.
Referee Keith Stroud disallowed a goal from former Ipswich striker Daryl Murphy for offside, ruled out a penalty appeal for a foul on Kayden Jackson and a goal from Jon Nolan following a quick free-kick.
Lambert said: “How well the guys are playing is fantastic and the crowd were brilliant and the two are bouncing off each other incredibly well.
“If we had walked away with a 4-2 win I don’t think anybody would have complained.
“If we had took our chances in the second half we would have least have had three and we had a great claim for a penalty, but that never happened.
“The referee said wait for the whistle (for the free-kick) and it was a great goal, a great free-kick, quick thinking and that seems to be the way it goes for us.”
Four minutes into the game a neat move down the right led Gwion Edwards crossing for Quaner to head in the opener.
Forest pressed for an equaliser and won another corner in the 31st minute which resulted in them drawing level.
It was taken by Joe Lolley and struck Nolan on the goalline and, as Ipswich keeper Bartosz Bialkowski attempted to grab the ball, Wague stretched out to knock the ball over the line and into the net.
A 41st-minute Lolley freekick was headed just over the bar by Murphy. And in injury time, he had the ball in the net following a Jack Robinson throw, but it was ruled offside.
Sub Trevoh Chalobah fired narrowly wide and, with 30 minutes left, Town should have taken the lead, when Alan Judge’s cross found an Nolan who headed just wide.
Referee Stroud then controversially disallowed an Ipswich goal in the 73rd minute when a Judge free-kick found Nolan, who fired high into the net. But Stroud ruled he had failed to blow his whistle.
In a frenetic period of additional time, Ipswich were deto nied a penalty claim when Jackson appeared to be fouled.
Forest manager Martin O’Neill said: “We got off to a very poor start and conceded a poor goal from Ipswich’s first attack. We fought our way back into the game and got the equaliser and obviously a big moment just before half-time when I thought we scored and TV replay looks as if we were two to three yards onside.
“That’s very disappointing, but it doesn’t stop the fact that Ipswich played very well and it was no surprise to me.”