Town’s winless start to the league season continued as Nottingham Forest left Portman Road with a point after a 1-1 draw. The Blues took the lead in the opening minute via Grant Leadbitter, one of three home debutants, but Forest sub Robert Earnshaw hit back in the second half immediately after coming on, while Gareth McAuley was red-carded close to the end for a professional foul.

Roy Keane made his promised changes with Lee Martin, Alan Quinn and Jon Stead coming into the side for Jaime Peters, Jack Colback and Pablo Couñago.

In heavy rain and on a very wet Portman Road pitch, Town went in front inside a minute. Jon Stead flicked on Carlos Edwards’s long throw and Leadbitter slammed home for his first goal for his new club.

Forest set about hitting back immediately with Joe Garner shooting just over from 25 yards. Moments later, David McGoldrick headed wide in what was a frenetic start.

Richard Wright did well to rush out and block at Dexter Blackstock’s feet on the edge of the area, before Alan Quinn shot over at the other end.

The game calmed down a little after the first five minutes or so and it wasn’t until the quarter hour mark that Town would threaten again, Edwards seeing a freekick deflect wide.

On 24, Lee Martin was booked by referee Gavin Ward for an altercation with Garner after a freekick had been awarded to the visitors when the Forest player appeared simply to have lost his footing. It was by no means the only error made by the young official.

Blackstock went close when a Rosenior clearance cannoned off him and went only narrowly wide, then Jon Walters struck a low shot through to Lee Camp in the Forest goal.

Just after the half hour, Chris Gunter was booked for a foul on Martin. From the freekick, Stead flicked a header wide.

As the half came to a close, the Blues enjoyed their most dominant period of the game, Stead narrowly failing to get a touch on a Rosenior cross after a good interchange between the loanee from Reading and Edwards.

On 43 Edwards forced Camp into a sharp save at his near post with a well struck shot from a tight angle after the ball had been cleared back out to him wide on the right.

Blackstock flicked a header into his own keeper’s arms on 44 and was perhaps fortunate not to score an own goal, prior to Leadbitter picking up a yellow card for what seemed a fairly innocuous foul.

The early goal had been exactly what Town needed but they hadn’t really taken control of the game after Leadbitter’s strike. As at Middlesbrough on Saturday, the Blues had played some good football in spells, most notably just before the break and the visitors were probably glad that half-time came when it did.

The second half started slowly, although Damien Delaney came close with a freekick curled just wide of the post from the edge of the area.

Former Norwich City striker Robert Earnshaw was introduced by Forest on 58 to chants of ‘Earnshaw’s an alien’ and within a minute he’d scored, breaking into the area untracked to slip the ball past Richard Wright.

Town switched Alan Quinn and Carlos Edwards for Jack Colback and Jaime Peters and the Canadian forced a save from Camp in the 65th minute.

However, it was the visitors who were enjoying more of the ball and the Blues were rarely threatening. On 68 Dele Adebola, who had been introduced at the break, was booked for kicking the ball away after he had been given offside.

Liam Trotter replaced Liam Rosenior, who had earlier spent time down injured, on 70, Jaime Peters switching to right-back.

Walters headed a Delaney cross to Camp in the 76th minute, but the Blues were continuing to struggle to make any impact on Forest’s backline. Two minutes later, McGoldrick was booked for a foul on Leadbitter.

Stead shot over from a Trotter pass, then Martin fired across the face of goal, prior to a Delaney strike deflecting wide. From the corner, a McAuley header was cleared off the line, the ball reaching Colback on the edge of the area, where he appeared to be tripped, only for referee Ward to show him a yellow card and award Forest a freekick for a dive.

Town appeared to run out of steam and ideas as the game entered its final minutes with long balls being sent towards Stead and Walters, but with the Forest defenders having little trouble in repelling everything aimed towards them.

As the game entered injury time, Gareth McAuley dallied on halfway, lost possession to Dele Adebola, who took the ball to the edge of the area where the Northern Irishman pulled him back. The red card was inevitable. Forest wasted the freekick.

The final whistle went soon after to boos with the Blues still looking for a league win and having made their worst start to a season since 1969/70, Sir Bobby Robson’s first full year in charge.

As on Saturday, there were one or two positives, Leadbitter in particular looks a promising acquisition in the centre of midfield, while Rosenior and Edwards both created problems down the right flank and overall the team had spells where they played some decent stuff in the first half.

The team still looked disjointed, particularly after the break, and had little up front and it seems likely that either Pablo Couñago or Tamás Priskin would have been introduced from the bench had Rosenior not picked up a knock.

Gareth McAuley’s nightmare start to the Town season continued with his error almost certain to have ended in a goal had he not committed the foul which led to his red card, which will keep him out of Saturday’s trip to Doncaster.

Town kept going to the end, but without showing anything in the way of quality or threat in and around the penalty area, which continues to be the biggest concern, along with the propensity to make grave errors in dangerous positions at the back and the continuing lack of a win.

Town: R Wright, Rosenior (Trotter 70), McAuley, Bruce, Leadbitter, Quinn (Colback 58), Martin, Edwards (Peters 58), Walters, Stead. Unused: Lee-Barrett, Couñago, Smith, Priskin. Att: 21,130.

Photo: Action Images

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