Town 0-1 Nottingham Forest - Half-Time
Saturday, 29th Mar 2014 15:53

Former Blues loanee Danny Collins’s fourth minute header sees Town trailing 1-0 to Nottingham Forest at Portman Road at half-time.

Cole Skuse returned to central midfield in place of Anthony Wordsworth after a two-game absence with the former Colchester man dropping out of the 18.

Forest handed a surprise debut to 19-year-old England U19 international midfielder Ben Osborn from the start.

As against Derby on Tuesday, Town went behind early on. Daniel Fox sent over a fourth minute corner from the left and ex-Blues loan defender Danny Collins rose highest to nod home his first goal for Forest.

The goal had come against the early run of play with the Blues having had most of the ball. After going behind, Town went looking for an equaliser, keeper Karl Darlow claiming Stephen Hunt’s cross from the left, then Paul Anderson hitting a shot across the face of goal from the other flank.

On 12 Darlow failed to reach a Hunt corner from the left, the ball falling loose to Luke Chambers, but the Blues skipper’s strike was blocked.

Town continued to have most of the ball, Jonny Williams nodding Skuse’s drifting cross in from the left over. At the other end, Collins turned a freekick to Town keeper Dean Gerken from the edge of the box.

Forest should have been two in front in the 18th minute when Jamie Paterson broke into the Town half following a Blues freekick with only Chambers to beat. The Blues captain did superbly to hold him up while he waited for Cresswell and the rest of his team-mates to get back, before stabbing the ball away from the former Walsall man.

Despite Town having a lot of the ball, the visitors were looking by far the more threatening team on the break with Paterson coming close to adding a second in the 24th minute when he cut in and hit a goal-bound shot which deflected wide. Three minutes later, former Colchester man Greg Halford was booked for a body check on Anderson.

Town almost gifted Forest a second in the 32nd minute when Cresswell’s clearance from the left hit Mackie and fell to Paterson inside the area. He laid it back to Radoslaw Majewski but his shot was blocked and Anderson eventually put the ball behind.

Anderson, who had looked uncomfortable since Halford’s earlier challenge, was switched for Sylvan Ebanks-Blake in the 35th minute.

The visitors had another good chance a minute later when Jamie Mackie was sent through on the right of the area by Paterson but Gerken came off his line quickly to save with his foot.

For the Blues, Murphy crossed from the right but just in front of Ebanks-Blake, then Hunt over shot over from distance. Soon after Williams crossed on to the roof of the net.

Town were continuing to have a lot of the ball but without creating any serious chances, while Forest were presenting a much greater threat on the break.

And that was how things continued until the whistle. Having conceded the early set-piece goal the Blues huffed and puffed but rarely looked like getting back on terms and were fortunate not to find themselves further behind with Forest always a danger on the counter-attack.

Town: Gerken, Cresswell, Chambers (c), Berra, Smith, Skuse, Hyam, Hunt, Anderson (Ebanks-Blake 35), Williams, Murphy. Subs: Loach, Mings, Green, Tabb, Richardson, Nouble.

Nottingham Forest: Darlow, Jara, Halford, Collins(c), Fox, Greening, Peltier, Osborn, Majewski, Paterson, Mackie. De Vries, Harding, Tudgay, Derbyshire, McLaughlin, Cox, Blake. Referee: Andrew Madley (West Yorkshire).

Photo: Action Images

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