I thought it best to put this report away from the hysteria of the forum where any rationally thought out post seems to be shot down with waves of abuse and cynical put downs.

Following on from 4 games on the run where we have played well and come away with points against teams we were expected to lose to, we were always likely to be disappointed with anything but 3 points against a Norwich side that hadn’t won in five games and only once away from home all season. But to lose in the manner we did makes the disappointment greater.

Norwich started the better side; with former Forest midfielder Sammy Clingan bossing the midfield the way he always has – but rarely got credit for whilst wearing the garibaldi. Forests Central Midfield pairing of Perch & Thornhill looked incredibly lightweight and were chasing shadows as Norwich moved the ball around the park with consummate ease. Norwich’s game plan was to target Heath, with their right midfielder Croft getting plenty of opportunities to run at the inexperienced Forest Full Back. For all their industry though, few chances were created although Camp was forced to rush out and make a brave block at the feet of Bell.

Forest however, looked dangerous on the counter-attack as the pace of Tyson & Anderson exposed the Norwich defence’s slow legs. It was from such a counter that Tyson broke away and was brought down by the lunging Doherty as he was about to get into the Penalty box. The referee had no hesitation in showing the red card and correctly awarding a free kick to Forest. In the absence of Earnshaw & McGugan, Forest have lacked potency from set pieces of late, with the norm being a Cohen floated cross/chip for the opposition defence to easily deal with. But the Reds had obviously been working on the training ground as a well-worked routine fed Matt Thornhill who placed a shot to the bottom corner that Goalkeeper Marshall did exceptionally well to stop. Norwich immediately countered with the lacklustre Wilson failing to deal with an Omozusi cross that allowed Bell to cleverly feed the onrushing Pattison to volley into the Forest net.

To their credit Forest upped the pace and started to create chances, with the very impressive Marshall frustratingly making a string of fine saves from Tyson, Cohen, Anderson & Garner. As you could sense the tension building with the home support, Garner slotted a perfectly weighted through ball to Anderson who checked inside his marker onto his favoured right foot and slotted the ball past the wrong-footed Marshall. Frustration turned to elation for the Forest fans. Norwich, still winning the battle in the middle of the park continued to have the most possession of the ball, but were restricted to putting crosses in from their right flank that Camp dealt with comfortably. Half time and Forest go in to a show of appreciation from the fans.

At the start of the 2nd half. Thornhill was replaced by McLeary, allowing Cohen to take a more central role. Tactically this was spot-on. Cohen added a little more muscle & industry to the midfield that the lightweight Thornhill could not provide. Norwich seemed a little more content to sit back & defend, whilst trying to hit Forest on the counter. Forest created a few chances with Marshall frustratingly continuing to be equal to whatever we could throw at him. Once again the Forest Fans were becoming increasingly restless as the reds huffed & puffed without looking capable of making the breakthrough. This restlessness was obviously having an effect on Forest as the players made a catalogue of unforced errors, misplaced passes and taking on one defender too many. Every time this happened the tension became more & more tangible, and the jeers and groans grew louder. Eventually something was going to give and it was Forest’s Man of the Match, Chris Cohen that allowed himself to be dispossessed in a dangerous position from which Norwich got the ball out wide to Croft. Crofts hopeful cross didn’t look particularly dangerous until both Chambers & Cohen both went for the same ball with the former clearing against the latter’s arm and past the despairing Camp. 2-1 to Norwich. There was time for Forest to try a few more shots, but only one of note was a Cohen effort that looked destined for the top corner of the Norwich net until that bloody Marshall fellow once again pulled of an outstanding save.

And so it ended to a chorus of boos and ‘Calderwood Out’ chants. I’m not one for booing, although I can understand the frustration. What I do find of poor taste is when the likes of Cohen & Anderson come to applaud the crowd is that they get abused by the Forest ‘Faithful’.

It’s a game that Norwich certainly didn’t deserve to win, but Forest got what they deserved after a dismal effort.

Match Ratings

Camp. Could do nothing about either goal. Pulled off a brave stop in the first half and commanded his area. Unlucky 7

Heath. Looked a little out of his depth today – but got no support from his midfielders. 6

Chambers. Adequate. Unlucky to be involved in the own goal. 6

Morgan. Solid. Lita got rarely a sniff. 7

Wilson. Poor. Shouldn’t be captain. Looks lazy & disinterested. 4

Anderson. Excellent first half capped by a well taken goal. Ran out of ideas in the 2nd. 7

Perch. Off the pace. I’ve never seen Perch have a good game when Clingan is on the same pitch. 5

Thornhill. As an attacking midfielder he’s good. But too lightweight for this particular game. 5

Cohen. Guilty of trying to do too much, too often. 6

Tyson. His pace unsettled them – but that’s only good when the other team is chasing a goal. 6

Garner. Lovely through ball for Andersons goal. Should have scored in the first half. 2nd half poor. 6

Subs

McLeary. Looked tricky with little end result. 5

Martin. As McLeary, but less effective. 4

Calderwood. The substitutions and timings were pretty much spot on. But his motivational skills need to be questioned.

Referee (Michael Oliver) Overall had a reasonable game. Just a few things I had issues with. 5 minutes into the 1st half, a Norwich player made a 2 footed lunge and whilst winning the ball also caught Joe Garner. In my eyes this was far more reckless a tackle than the one that has seen McGugan red carded & sidelined for the last 3 games. Not even given as a foul. The same result with a late challenge on Cohen a few minutes later. Also, Bell gave a hefty shove on Joe Heath in the build up to their first goal. If it had been Heath doing the shoving, it would have been a penalty without a doubt. Just a few inconsistencies that will forever undermine the ‘Respect to Referees’ campaign.

Altogether a poor result that sees us adrift once again at the foot of the table. Tuesdays game at Doncaster is a chance to salvage some pride as well as get us back up a position. This really is a must win game as we cannot afford to give any points away over the next few games. In fact I would go as far as to say that if we are still in the bottom 3 come the New Year. We will be relegated.