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SM · Posted: Sun Feb 08, 2009 10:30 pm Post subject: Just Back on the Island...

Once again apologies for what has turned out to be another very late report!

Should anyone actually be bothered to read it, here was my view on the fiery encounter at the City Ground.

Firstly i would like to comment on what was undoubtadely the largest away following from us this season. As I took to my seat located at the top behind the goal, it didn't look like any seats were spare such was the number of people we had there.

One player that i know my eyes were firmly fixed on was Lee Camp. As the players ran out onto the pitch he was given a huge ovation by the Forest supporters, and it was clear to see how loved he was at the club. As he ran towards the home end before the game started, both tiers rose to their feet and clapped him, and he duely responded with a wave and thumbs up towards all of them.

There were a few suprises in the starting lineup, but most notably Alberti started on the left side of midfield with Ephraim again starting on the bench. Also De Carmine was given a rare start with Blackstock as the back up on the bench. But with the exception of those two it was as we were, and we continued the same formation that has served us so well on the road of late.

Within the first 60 seconds of the game, there were some very strong tackles going in from both sides. It was clear from this early stage the atmosphere that Billy Davies seems to have pushed the Forest faithful to provide. Literally every single tackle that is made on the players, the whole crowd raise to the feet and get straight onto the referee's back. This coupled with Davies persistence to barrack the referee from the touchline, made it a very hostile place indeed.

The first chance came our way. A superb flighted ball onto the right hand side found Routledge who wipped in a fantastic cross, and as De Carmine jumped to make contact it was scrambled back up into the air by Paul Smith. As the ball seemed to take an absolute age to come to the ground, Alberti's scuffed shot headed towards the goal. It appeared that Paul Smith slipped and the ball was destined for the back of the net, as only Chambers was on the goal line. He stuck his hand out though, and scrapped the ball clear. I know the referee's may not see everything, but i was sat directly behind the ball, and it was a deliberate attempt to stop the ball going in - no doubt. He should have been given his marching orders and a penalty awarded to us.

That close shave seemed to really add to the self belief of the players, and the next chance wasn't far off. Again Miller was the playmaker, and his pass found Routledge who again beat his man and crossed another fantastic ball into the box. Again though it was headed it clear, and as the ball reached around the penalty spot - Mahon came in with a flying diving header but the ball blasted wide of the right hand post.

This really put the Forest support on edge, and they were again cursing as Tyson clashed with Gorkss and had to be substituted. For the following few minutes there was wave after wave of constant pressure, and the next person to come close was Leigertwood. This time Alberti, who had already made a few promising runs glided into the box and blasted a low ball towards the center of the goal. As it hit one of the defenders legs who had thrown himself to the floor, Leigertwood found himself with back to goal and the ball hung in the air. He stuck a leg out at it, and the ball headed towards the goal line. Smith seemed to stand still, as he clearly wasn't expecting it and the ball agonisingly clipped the right hand post and was again smashed clear. Had it been another 2 inches more central, we would have been one goal up - but again it wasn't to be.

Then Forest who had barely mustered to bring the ball out of their half let alone have a shot on target came close. As the cross came in from the right hand side, everyone seemed to miss it. It caught Camp wrong footed, but at full stretch he somehow managed to push the ball away into the corner, and it was played forward from Connolly.

For the remaining few minutes we seemed to really push forward. Gorkss who had been outstanding at the back alongside Stewart continued to bring the ball forward, and at times almost looked like a midfielder. That coupled with Delaney bombing forward fown the left hand side left Forest bewildered, and it looked a matter of time before the goal would finally come. In honesty without really having any more chances at goal, we were playing excellent football. One move that particularly stood out was just before the end of the half. Connolly robbed the ball in the corner of the pitch, and pushed forward with it. As he pinged the ball towards Mahon he slid it on towards Miller who played a superb through ball to De Carmine. His cheeky back heel left the defence standing and Miller got a corner as a result of a last ditch tackle. This set the pattern for the whole half, and there was a whole host of this kind of play. Although we are obviously not at the same level, i suppose i would liken it to the football Arsenal play in a way. But it was a very very encouraging display, and it was clear that Sousa's style is slowly getting across to the players.

As the first half minutes winded down, the man sat next to me muttered "This lot are here for the taking, only Rangers could stuff this up now" and how true his words were! The only 'attacks' we had to defend were long balls, and Gorkss was picking up every single one of them. By this stage i think the full Forest support and Billy Davies were praying for the half time whistle

to go. But then another ball was swung into the box, and was grasped by Camp. Literally about 5-10 yards away (hard to tell the distance, but certainly not in a threatening position) Alberti was adjudged to have fouled the Forest winger, and inexplicably the referee awarded a penalty kick. I have to say i was speechless. There was some very hard tackles coming in on our players, particularly on the tireless De Carmine - who was offered no protection whatsoever, and after a half completely dominated by us - we found ourselves conceding a penalty right before the end of the half.

The penalty was placed to the left of Lee Camp, and somehow Forest had managed to pull level.

After what i can only call a seriously over-celebrated goal, it looked for the world that we would be going into half time a goal down.

However, as we continued to press literally from the kick off it could have been no more than 2 minutes when the ball found Routledge on the right hand side. As he cut into the middle, Connolly overlapped on the wing, and found the ball played to his feet. He crossed a low ball into the box and it found Alberti who struck the ball goalwards. I have to say i think the goalkeeper would have saved it, but it seemed to hit a Forest defender and deflect past him into the back of the net. Although i think even the most ardent Forest supporter would accept it was the very least we deserved.

It was unbelievable, and typical Rangers. We play a side off the field for 45 minutes, concede a soft penalty right at the end of the half, then somehow manage to muster a goal before going in for the break.

As the referee called time on the first half, the QPR fan's continued to celebrate throughout half time. As the dejected Forest fans shuffled away in despair, the away end was bouncing and you couldn't help but feel a similar buzz was in the dressing room.

Then literally as we took to our seats at the start of the half, Routledge flighted a dipping ball into the box. Alberti made a run and latched onto it, and as he battled with a defender, his shot arrowed right into the top hand corner of the goal and we found ourselves 2-1 up!!

If the celebrations for the first goal were what we call wild, then I am at a loss to describe the celebrations for the second!
As Camp turned towards the QPR fans now situated right behind him, he celebrated with us right infront of the Forest fans above us.

It was just amazing... finally we had got that lead that our performance had so richly deserved, and looked destined to cruise to our third straight away victory.

It was after this goal that the players really had a spring in their step. We stroked the ball round fantastically, and dominated in possession.
Our next chance came when a neat one two between Connolly and Miller found Routledge with the goal at his mercy. As he connected with his shot well, the ball swung wide of the post with just the goalkeeper to beat. His expression said it all, and while we didn't have the best view of it - it was obvious it was a great chance to extend our lead.

The one thing that i would possibly point out that did worry me was we seemed ever so confident to just play the ball around between the defence and midfield. While they were holding possession comfortably, i felt this was a mistake. We should have carried on with the free-flowing attacking football we were treated to in the first half. Forest just couldn't contain us, but the chances of Forest actually getting a goal were very small in all honesty.

Then Forest had their first chance of the second half, a deflected through ball found the striker on the edge of the box. But his tame shot was easily smothered by Camp.

It was soon after we lost De Carmine. He seemed to try and turn and then crumbled on the floor. He didn't move at all, and was clearly in absolute agony. As Forest played on, the referee didn't seem to take much notice. One of the Forest defenders clearly saw the pain he was in, and passed the ball out of touch so he could get some attention. It was met with absolute horror by Billy Davies, who riled on the touchline at his defender. As the stretcher was brought on, he still continued to go wild at his players over the top of a round of booing from the Forest crowd. I think it pretty much summed him up - win at all costs and have no thought for the opposition.

Blackstock was then introduced to replace the crocked De Carmine.
It was soon after the the impressive Miller was substituted to make way for Ephraim.

Then the unexplainable happened. For what seemed like a pretty poor cross in honesty, Lee Camp flapped and ball was headed goalwards. With both Stewart and Gorkss right on the goal line, they both seemed to just look at each other and the ball trickled over the line for them to equalise. It was a very poor goal to concede, and harsh on both of them as they had played so well up till then.

It was then that we seriously started to exert some pressure, and Forest seemed content to settle for a point at this stage. They literally lined everyone back in midfield, and almost tried to just block our route to goal. It was the closing stages of the game at this time, and to be honest im struggling to remember everything that happened. I think we could have scored 5 times over!

Delaney found himself with time and space on the left of the pitch around the half way line. As the defence seemed to back off him, and mark everyone onto the pitch he decided to run forward with the ball. As still nowone approached him he bundled his way past two players and bared down on goal. His lofted cross was plucked out of the air by Routledge who prodded the ball towards the goal. But it was straight at Smith and was pushed round the goal for a corner kick.

As Routledge went over to take it, Ephraim provided an option to go short. As Forest commited a couple of players to follow him, Routledge drilled a low cross into the box. Gorkss let it run through his legs and it seemed for the world that the ball would end up in the back of the net. But annoyingly it found a Forest player who gave it an almighty blast behind the goal for another corner.

This time Routledge put in another good corner and it was scrambled towards the edge of the box... Then as Leigertwood who had a quiet game, connected perfectly with it and the ball seemed destined to curl over Smith for the winner. But as we literally stood to celebrate, Smith somehow managed to make up alot of ground and pushed the ball over the crossbar for yet another corner!

This time a deep flighted ball evaded every player on the pitch and found Leigertwood right on the 6 yard line. He met his header well, and again we thought we had it won. But somehow it was again pushed round for another corner. Any other day it goes in and we win the match, but for the brilliance of Smith we would have done it.

The proceeding corner was poor though, and easily margined away towards the half way line.

It was with literally a couple of minutes left that Balanta was introduced. He looked full of confidence after his successful loan spell at Wycome. And after a couple of fake crosses, he finally put one in which found Blackstock right infront of goal. But as he raised his foot to bury the ball past the keeper, a last ditch tackle stopped him and the chance was gone.

As the full time whistle

went, I found myself scratching my head wondering what more we could have possibly done. We threw everything at Forest, but just couldn't get that winner. I think we were badly let down by the referee today, not only for the dodgey penalty decision but his general decision making was shocking! Every time Routledge made a run he was heaved back and not allowed to move, and the referee should have put an end to this early on. Also although his injury wasn't the result of any poor tackles, De Carmine was destroyed with a whole host of dirty fouls and as already mentioned just wasn't protected.

Also much has been said about this 'fantastic' Forest support they supposedly have... But i thought they were terrible. Had they put half the amounf of effort into singing for their side as they did booing the referee they would probably have the best atmoshere in the country. But their constant nagging and calling for every decision no matter what happens clearly influences the referee's and it showed with the penalty decision.

Player Ratings -

Lee Camp - Didn't really have much to do if I'm honest. Good save from a low cross into the box in the first half, but was possibly responsible for the second goal. I have to say his distribution was very good though... a massive improvement on last season. He got a great reception from both sets of fans who sung his name throughout.

Matthew Connolly - Flashes of brilliance, but also glimpses of a real lack of experience. I still maintain he is the best defender we have at the club, but he did misplace quite a few passes today and wasn't his normal assured self in my opinion. I do like the understanding he appears to be building with Routledge though, and the reason this may sound slightly harsh is only because i rate him so highly. I think he could do better, but was fautless in defending and always an available option across the back.

Kaspers Gorkss - I may be wrong, but i think he could have done much better for the second goal. But apart from that he had a great goal. He was like a titan at the back and nothing Forest did seemed able to break him down. Shame we conceded two goals, because he was outstanding today. Time and time again he played the ball out of defence and his passing for the midfield was top top class. Cannot be dropped.

Damian Stewart - Again like Gorkss had a really good game. One thing that did frustrate me was his aimless blasting of the ball up the pitch. Every other player seemed to ping the ball across the floor except him. At the back though he wasn't really troubled and had a reasonable game.

Damien Delaney - I thought he had a good game today. He was very strong in the tackle and always on hand further up the pitch. One thing i did notice in the first half was he was caught out of position at the back a few times. but i think this was due to us pressing so attacking early on. Seem's to have overcame that flurry of poor performances he was displaying, and now looking much more like the player of last season.

Wayne Routledge - Always dangerous in possession. I didn't think he had his best game for us today though, but this was partly due to him not being able to run past the back line without being tugged back. Had he not been fouled constantly, i think he would have had a field day. Also should have scored with a good chance he had, but superb ball for Alberti's goal.

Gavin Mahon - Probably my man of the match. I thought he was excellent today. Broke up everything in midfield, and its no surprise that the only goal Forest scored from open play was from a cross on the wing. They just couldn't get through him! Also superb passing all around. Had a great game!

Mikel Leigertwood - Not the best game from him today. Seemed off the pace in my eyes, and wasn't that engine and driving force that he normally is. To be honest Forest didn't pose much threat, and as a result i suppose his display didn't stand out. Nearly scored a cracking goal though.

Liam Miller - A close man of the match contender. He really pulled the strings today, showed quick feet and more than happy to push forward and attack. One thing that many did notice was his intelligence with Routledge and Connolly making runs. At times the three of them were irresitable, and really did look a class above. The more this three play together the better they will get, but he really impressed me today.

Matteo Alberti - I think many will question why i didn't think he was man of the match. On the positive in the first half he had some fantastic runs. He really does look impressive when running at players, and goes both wide and comes in. His defending is a real weakness though, and this may partially be due to him settling into the English game. He finished both of his goals well though, particularly the second one. He did fade as the game went on, but like i say made a real difference.

Samuel De'Carmine - I haven't seen any news on his injury yet, but i fear that his loan spell could be cut short as a result of it. I felt for him today, he ran his socks off and battled so so hard for the ball. As far as commitment you couldn't ask any more, and for that reason alone i think he will be missed. It was clear that he really wanted to impress today, and it was a shame his game was cut short. One thing i will say, is he seems to turn direction so quickly that he falls over pretty often. That's an observation from a few games not just this one, but i have to say i really like the look of him.

Substitutes -

Hogan Ephraim - Few of his little tricks on show, and put in a few good crosses. He didn't seem to really get to the back line and cause any danger though.

Dexter Blackstock - Gave us a whole new dimention when he came on. Won pretty much everything in the air, but could have possibly done better with two attempted headers he had. Wish he would have struck his sole guilt-edged chance earlier as no doubt we would be talking about one of the great games this season. Have to say though, we did miss Helguson's movement upfront.

Angelo Balanta - Didn't get long enough to make an impact, but one very good cross for Blackstock and chased back when needed.

Chants of the game -

"Lee Camp is a Derby fan" in response to the Forest song of "Lee Camp is a Forest fan!"

"Where's your Cloughey gone?!"

Overall it was a great performance by the whole side today, and we won't create more chances than that away from home this season in my opinion. We dominated and controlled from start to finish. Had our finished been a little better, it would have been a rout. Still think we were unlucky with the penalty decision, but could ask no more from the players and Sousa got his tactics spot on.

Just one other thought i will mention, as she seems to be the most popular QPR fan that there is!!!!
But Tracy Stent was also at the game today, and it was great to see her back, and i look forward to reading plenty more match reports from her - i hope! Very Happy