Hughton gets off to a perfect start
A CHANGE of manager and a change of fortune for a Nottingham Forest side whose post lockdown blues had seen them relinquish a place in last season’s Championship play- off places for one in the relegation zone at the start of this.
Chris Hughton was abl e to celebrate his first match since replacing Sabri Lamouchi with a win after Joe Lolley’s speculative long ranger took a huge deflection off Bradley Johnson’s backside and crept inside a post as the clock ticked onto 90 minutes at a dank Ewood Park.
Seconds earlier, it appeared as though the 61-year-old was to be denied such a happy ending to his return to the dugout, 17 months after being sacked by Premier League Brighton, when Sammy Ameobi’s instinctive toe-poke was fizze dont oan upright by a Blackburn block.
At the final whistle, though, there were handshakes all round from the blue- suited Hughton, the Midlands club’s 13th managerial appointment in nine years.
‘ We have all been through those difficult periods and sometimes when you win a game in that manner t o wards the end it can be an even nicer feeling,’ Hughton said. ‘ The most pleasing aspect is t hat we got stronger as the game went on.’
A Forest team that had gone 11 competitive matches without victory under Lamouchi was founded on defensive resolve, with Jack Colback and Ryan Yates indefatigable in shielding their back four. Greater attacking verve will be injected in the coming weeks with Anthony Knockaert and Kamil Grosicki, two wingers promoted to the P remie r League last season, set to be introduced to the squad. Knockaert’s arrival from Fulham was announced on Friday, while Forest believe the paperwork for a season-long loan for Grosicki from West Brom was lodged before the 5pm deadline and hope for confirmation of that from the EFL tomorrow.
Blackburn began the weekend as the division’s leading goalscorers but were poorer for the absence of two creative sparks in the former Germany midfielder Lewis Holtby, who flew to his homeland to spend time with his wife and newborn daughter, and Joe Rothwell, the former Manchester United trainee who was forced to isolate at home due to coronavirus protocols.
None of their four new recruits — Barry Douglas, loaned Liverpool t eenager Harvey Elliott, Tom rybull and Aynsley Pears — were considered, meaning first starts of the season for Corry Evans and John Buckley in midfield.
The hosts managed few efforts on target, while in contrast goalkeeper Thomas Kaminski became their most important player.
Almost caught out by Cyrus Christie’s dinked cross that found its way to safety via the keeper’s fi ngertips and t he t op of t he crossbar during the first half, he repelled several efforts as confidence coursed through the visitors’ veins during the second.
Kaminski was left helpless five minutes after the restart when Lewis Grabban jinked to the byline and teed up Yates, who could only head over at full stretch.
Even then, Blackburn manager Tony Mowbray said: ‘It looked like it had 0-0 all over it, and we didn’t feel under any serious threat.’
Until Kaminski was twice left flat-footed twice by deflections in the final stages, the second of which provided Hughton with the perfect start.