lost that loving feeling - Getting back the away day belief

The last time I travelled to watch Forest I saw an abject, humiliating and gutless performance that resulted in Mr Joseph Kinnear quitting a few days later. Pride Park was jumping after the sheep battered us 3-0 and it amazed me to get home and not hear of Kinnear’s immediate sacking. I felt lucky to actually get home at all that day, inadvertently walking into a huge crowd of Derby fans being escorted by the police after the game was not the wisest of moves.

Since that day I decided that to waste any more of my limited funds on trips like that would be madness. I knew we were going down only a few games later, when Sunderland beat us with the last kick of a game we had totally dominated, and watching the Reds became a chore. I listened to every away game and they were always miserable affairs. But I still always tuned in, more in hope than expectation.

Away days this season have been all too familiar. I settle down to hear Colin Fray and John McGovern describe our boys playing abysmally and losing far too often. It wasn’t supposed to be this way. However, I had hope for Saturday. Back-to-back victories had provided some cheer and maybe we could push on and continue the run. Swansea are on a roll though. Top of the league and they’d battered Bristol City 7-1 in their previous home game. The potential for another afternoon of misery and much cursing was also clear.

For about an hour I actually enjoyed what I heard. Forest were sounding good and in control. 1-0 up from a Jack Lester strike, they had been playing well and were creating numerous chances. We should have had a penalty before we took the lead, by all accounts Swansea should have been down to 10 men and Lester, Johnson, Commons and Southall were linking up well again.

“Too good to be true”, I thought. But I let myself believe we would win the longer the game went on. To be fair I should’ve known what would result from my sense of optimism, life always comes back to kick you and we should have been more than one goal up.

The game changed on a substitution. Taking off Lester was all well and good – the man’s played three games in a week having not played for nine months beforehand, he must’ve been knackered – but to replace him with a midfielder, Ross Gardner, was a poor decision by Megson, one he admitted to in the post-match interview. The atmosphere changed instantly, as if the microphones on the crowd had been cranked up. Swansea’s ‘New Stadium’ (I’m sure that’s what Colin Fray was calling it all afternoon, why no name?) became a cauldron of noise, the best part of 20,000 Welshmen sensed blood and it was only a matter of time before the equaliser came.

What did surprise me was the time it took to come and that Forest were then able to hold on. There is a huge positive to take from this. Two weeks ago they would have crumbled, it is a testament to the new-found spirit in the side that they didn’t. A point at the league leaders is a very good result and we have two home games next week to try and build on the last three performances.

A few other things I noticed/thought while listening: Was Frio even playing? I think I heard his name about twice all afternoon. Breckin sounded good again and to only concede one goal against a side who have got 25 already this year is an achievement. And please can we stop playing five at the back at ANY time? It only invites teams to attack and we were playing well before, why change it?

It says a lot that I’m disappointed to have only drawn having heard what I did. Blackpool on Tuesday now appeals far more than it would have done had we lost and maybe, just maybe I might feel the need to travel with the Reds once more. Southend is the next away trip, there’s a beach there. But it’s in October. I’ll think about it.