Nottingham Forest 0-0 Ipswich Town - Half-Time
Saturday, 30th Nov 2024 15:58
The Blues’ game against Nottingham Forest at the City Ground remains 0-0 at half-time.
Town made one change from the team which drew 1-1 at home to Manchester United last Sunday with Conor Chaplin coming into the XI for Wes Burns, who dropped to the bench.
Chaplin returned to his familiar number 10 role with Omari Hutchinson moving to right wing.
Kalvin Phillips, Ben Johnson and Jacob Greaves, who have all had knocks recently, were once again absent from the 20-man squad, while Nathan Broadhead was back on the bench after his groin issue.
Forest made five changes from the team which lost 3-0 at Arsenal last week with eight-goal top scorer and former Blues loanee Chris Wood, Morgan Gibbs-White, Elliot Anderson, Neco Williams and Jota Silva, making his first Premier League start, coming in for Taiwo Awoniyi, Alex Moreno, James Ward-Prowse, Nicolas Dominguez and Anthony Elanga, who were all among the subs.
The home side won a corner within the opening minute from which some of their fans on the far side thought they had gone in front. Gibbs-White rose high at the near post but sent the ball powerfully wide.
Town threatened for the first time on four when Liam Delap brought the ball through players to the edge of the box before hitting a shot which deflected off Murillo and looped wide for a corner.
From the flag-kick, Dara O’Shea seemed to get away with his man just beyond the near post but was unable to make contact. Forest broke quickly and Axel Tuanzebe was booked for bringing down Jota.
Following the free-kick, Forest went very close to going in front. The ball was lofted to Callum Hudson-Odoi in space on the left of the area. One-time Tricky Trees loanee Aro Muric did well to close down the England international, who was forced to bring the ball across inside and his shot ricocheted out to skipper Ryan Yates on the edge of the box, from where his low strike was destined to find the corner of the net until Sammie Szmodics turned it behind from just in front of the line.
On 14, Cameron Burgess lost possession midway inside the Town half and Forest broke towards goal. However, captain Sam Morsy was able to stick in a vital toe to avert what could have been a very dangerous situation.
Town, who had looked a threat from all their previous four corners, almost went in front from their fifth in the 24th minute. O’Shea and Burgess both rose higher than their Forest markers and the Australian international guided a header to towards the corner but Ola Aina was able to clear off the line at the post.
The game was usually open for the Premier League and on 26 Jota flicked a header across the face of goal from a Williams cross.
Two minutes later, Gibbs-White struck a low effort from distance which Muric saved with comfort down to his right.
Just before the half hour mark, O’Shea was booked for a foul on Anderson to the left of the penalty box. Muric confidently caught the whipped in cross from the set piece.
Moments later, there was a break in play when Chaplin went to ground to require treatment, almost certainly for tactical reasons with the entire Town team going to the touchline for instruction.
On 33, the Blues should have gone in front. Delap did well to work space in the middle just outside the box and then feed Hutchinson on the right of the area. The former Chelsea man’s right-footed low shot was palmed out by Matz Sels and Chaplin looked set to slam the rebound home until Delap took it away from him as he sought to turn and shoot but failed to get it under control.
The frustation was written clear on Chaplin’s face with the former Portsmouth and Barnsley forward still to score a Premier League goal.
Two minutes later, with play continuing to fluctuate from one end to the other, Williams hit a free-kick from the right past the post.
As half-time approached, with the Blues getting stronger, Gibbs-White was booked for having a kick at Morsy having fouled the Egyptian international, who made his displeasure known to the ex-Wolves midfielder.
Moments before the fourth official’s board indicated two additional minutes, Anderson and Morsy collided as the Forest man looked to get onto a return pass with Forest claiming a deliberate bodycheck from the Town skipper, while the Blues’ players saw Anderson as having run straight into Morsy. The truth was probably somewhere between the two.
It was Town attacking as the whistle went with Kieran McKenna’s side once again having grown into a first half after the opposition had taken the earlier initiative.
Forest’s best chance was Yates’s early effort, which was cleared off the line by Szmodics, while Burgess similarly had a goal-bound header knocked away from goal by Aina with Town having looked dangerous from set pieces throughout.
Going off, Town will feel they should have been in front with Chaplin having looked odds-on to score had Delap not taken the rebound from Hutchinson’s shot away from him.
It had been an open half with chances and plenty of set pieces at both ends and either side could make an argument that they would have deserved to have been ahead at the break.
Forest: Sels, Murillo, Williams, Anderson, Gibbs-White, Wood, Hudson-Odoi, Jota, Yates (c), Milenkovic, Aina. Subs: Miguel, Morato, Awoniyi, Toffolo, Dominguez, Ward-Prowse, Moreno, Elanga, Sosa.
Town: Muric, Tuanzebe, O’Shea, Burgess, Davis, Morsy (c), Cajuste, Hutchinson, Chaplin, Szmodics, Delap. Subs: Walton, H Clarke, Townsend, Taylor, Luongo, Burns, Broadhead, J Clarke, Al-Hamadi. Referee: Tony Harrington (Cleveland). VAR: Matt Donohue.
_Photo: Reuters_
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