Through the seasons before us..

Nottingham Forest – 0
Doncaster Rovers – 0

A frustrating afternoon, for sure.  Whether it justified the booing at full time I would question, making a disappointing performance on the pitch compounded by an equally disappointing reaction from some of our ‘supporters.’

Once again we are left with the bitter-sweet realisation that quite a few other results went rather well for us, soured by the fact we didn’t capitalise.  Of course, Norwich and Cardiff have yet to play their games this weekend yet – so we could yet end up falling further by the promotion wayside.  However, as Billy said post-match, despite everything we are still in a very favourable position.

Billy made a few changes after Tuesday’s disappointing slump at the Blades, introducing McCleary for a rare starting berth, Majewski and Earnshaw started – with Anderson and Adebola moved to the bench, McGoldrick not in the squad at all…

Camp
Gunter    Morgan    Chambers    Konchesky
Cohen    McKenna    Majewski    McCleary
Earnshaw    Tudgay

Despite my residual grumpiness, it was a pretty good start for the Reds.  They pressed forward and made Donny look very uncomfortable – but, in what was to be a recurring theme, they couldn’t convert possession in the final third into a decent opportunity to test the visiting goalkeeper.  On their rare forays forward Donny were restricted to long range efforts – but at least they were getting shots in!

Forest were passing the ball around quite well early doors – Tudgay played the ball to Gunts who was haring down the right, he put in a delicious looking cross which McCleary couldn’t get on the end of.  Really I would’ve expected a striker to be in there somewhere.  McKenna played the ball through to McCleary but he couldn’t get his cross past his marker.

Donny started to come to life a bit more as the half hour mark approached – a long range effort from Wilson as just over, and amusingly a chunk of the visiting fans thought they’d scored when I thought a freekick quite clearly went over.  It certainly gave the home fans a welcome diversion from the increasingly nullified game by occasionally apeing the cheering after random incidents in the game.

Our first of very few shots on target came with about ten minutes to go before half time – and to be honest, it was never likely to yield a goal.  Majewski struck the ball from a way out, and it looked a fairly routine stop for Woods to make.  Arguable a better chance fell for Tudgay, a decent ball from Konchesky in to him on the D saw him get a good connection, but missed the target – and he really should’ve done better.

At the end of the half we were gifted a great opportunity – a miss-kick from George Friend fell very favourably for Earnie, but Woods was very quick to come out and close down and rather than slip the ball under the ‘keeper  he went for power, and Woods was able to get a very good save in.  After this Earnie oddly ended up sitting down by the half way line before eventually going off, looked like a hamstring injury.

We weren’t able to get Tys on despite him being stripped and ready before the half time whistle.  So we were drawing, we had undoubtedly had the best of the first half, but really struggling to break down a mostly-well-organised Donny side – compounded by our own lack of craft and movement in unlocking that final opportunity to get a decent effort in on goal.

So the second half started with the introduction of Nathan Tyson to replace the injured Earnshaw, and frankly, that was probably the most interesting thing to have occurred.  We seemed intent on giving the ball away for ten minutes, whilst Donny were content to sit – it wasn’t ’til Chambers took matters into his own hands, and when he had nobody to pass to he just took the ball forward and looked a bit confused to end up at the edge of the area and having a shot which ultimately won us a corner.

Kris Boyd replaced Majewski on the hour, with Tys moving more to the left, but the game was really still very stagnant.  Donny had another effort from range, this time from Mason which was just wide and certainly looked to have the beating of Camp.  Billy put on McGugan for Tudgay to try to inject some creativity into proceedings, I would have been inclined to replace McCleary who was looking a combination of out-of-depth and unconfident.  Then again, Tudgay looked tired.

The changes didn’t seem to do much in our favour, though, it was Donny again capitalising on our poor retention of the ball and Mason again shooting from range – and fortunately for us – not hitting the target again.  At the other end another decent cross from Gunts found Tyson, but he couldn’t get his header on target.  McCleary was starting to get more into the game too, and a powerful effort from a tight angle was cleared off the line by Hird.

With time running out the Reds were trying to create but labouring, finally Lewis did really well and got the ball to McCleary who had time to take out a cigar, smoke it whilst contemplating his opportunity, adjust his monocle and perhaps even indulge in a little snooze before calmly slotting his chance into the net.  Alas, he bumbled controlling it and by the time he shot it was blocked well by Friend, and out for a corner than inevitably led to nothing.

Coppinger got on the end of a counter-attack but dragged his shot wide – after that Forest actually started to look like they were playing with a sense of urgency, a Cohen cross was unconvincingly punched clear by Woods preventing Tys getting on the end of it, and Boyd should have opened his Forest account after a good Tyson break down the left, he held it up well waiting for reinforcements to arrive and played it neatly to Boyd on the penalty spot – unfortunately he totally missed the ball!!

That was pretty much it – it was a disappointing afternoon’s work from the boys for sure, because whilst they had their moments, Donny looked there for the taking today – which isn’t surprising given their injury situation.  A few people remarked in the first half that “if we can get an early goal here we could have a rout”.  Credit to Donny, they defended well and harried in midfield, and certainly I think they were good value for a draw.

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Forest unveil their new mascot: Banana man!

Sheffield United – 2
Nottingham Forest – 1

So, Sheffield United haven’t won since December – enter stage right, Nottingham Forest.  Whilst I’m not one to show disrespect to our opponents, this is another disappointing result for a team aspiring to attain promotion.  Another one.  On another day when we could’ve made up ground on some other teams at the top as a mixed bag of results elsewhere played out.

Indeed, on a night where we may have to reappraise our desire for automatic promotion and start hoping we can at least keep a foothold in the play-offs.  As it stands this evening, three points separates us in sixth place to seventh placed Burnley.  Seventh placed Burnley have two games in hand over us (which, as we know from bitter experience, does not necessarily equal full points!).

After today’s signing of Boyd, Billy opted to keep his new lad on the bench – and fielded what appears to be a team to try to play the Blades at their own game rather than play around them.  That’s not something we’ve proven particularly adept at in recent weeks, but benched were Raddy, Lewis and Earnie in favour of Dele, Goldie and McKenna in a line-up that looked a bit like this:

Camp
Gunter    Morgan    Chambers    Konchesky
Cohen    McKenna
Anderson   Tudgay   McGoldrick
Adebola

Sort of.  As ever, formations vary – and to be honest, I’d describe ours as largely shapeless – but I’m second-guessing what the actual intention might have been.  It was a first half of few chances – a run from Anderson fed the ball to McGoldrick whose shot towards the top corner was just wide of the goal.

At the other end Sam Vokes teed up a shot for Daniel Bogdanovic lurking around the penalty spot which brought a save from Lee Camp.  The Reds spurned an opportunity when Dele won the ball in midfield, setting up a chance for McGoldrick who shot wide from the edge of the area.  They almost stung us with a good move down the right, Lowton crossing to Vokes who shot but was denied by Camp.

Meanwhile Tudgay became the latest Reds player to fail to hit the target – having chesting the ball down, controlling awkwardly and missing the target from 20 yards.  Then commenced the customary Brammal Lane hoof ball session which resulting in neither team creating much – ultimately the stalemate of frustration was broken by a home shot on target, but it was an easy save.

It was the Reds to take the lead, though – Paul McKenna made a good run down the right, fed it to Anderson whose cross found Dele with his back to goal, but the big striker managed to turn and shoot from six yards putting it under Steve Simonsen to give Forest the lead after 42 minutes.  Little of note occurred before half time, which left the Reds in a good position – 1-0 up and feeling rather chirpy.

We could’ve been chirpier still moments into the second half, a drilled cross by Chris Cohen was almost turned into his own net by Neill Collins, but fortunately for the defenders’ blushes it ended up just wide of the post.  A freekick for a foul on Cohen was struck tamely at Simonsen as the Reds struggled to try to build on their fragile one goal lead.

The home side started to get more into the match – Montgomery had an effort blocked by Wes, from the resulting corner Lowton connected with a header but put it over.  It looked like they would be back in it when Gunter brought down Bogdanovic in the area – the referee awarded a penalty which was taken by the fouled striker, but Camp made a smart dive to his left to prevent the goal.

A rare break for Forest saw Cohen get the ball through to McGoldrick who was a little too slow to pull the trigger to prevent Colins from diving infront of his shot to block it.  Kris Boyd was introduced for his Forest debut at the expense of goalscorer Dele Adebola, but it was to be a portent of ill-fortune for Forest, as minutes later we would concede the equaliser.

Lee Camp was quickly out to prevent Vokes doing damage from a Lowton cross, unfortunately it was a bit misjudged as the striker put the ball through his legs from six yards out to get the goal.  Bugger.  Billy withdrew McGoldrick in favour of McCleary to try to inject some creativity into the side – he soon put a decent ball in to the danger zone, but Montgomery was on hand to block it.

With ten minutes on the clock Sheffield United claimed what proved to be the winning goal – a disappointing one to conceded too.  A corner, a free header from six yards, a cracking header from Lowton into the top corner of the net.  A real kick in the proverbials, and worst of all eminently preventable by simply marking everyone at a set piece.  Very frustrating indeed.

Whilst Forest laboured to get back into it, and Boyd had one chance parried away by Simonsen, but ultimately the painfully familiar scenario of us trying to force a late chance resulted in the typical end-product we’re used to seeing.  Or rather, it didn’t result in an end-product, and of course that means we didn’t get the equaliser, and we lose whilst Norwich win, Swansea and Cardiff draw and ominously Burnley lurk below us, too close for comfort.

How fickle fate is treating us, from dreaming of perhaps pipping QPR atop the table we now find ourselves casting fearful glances over our shoulders at the chasing pack.  As many people point out, there’s usually a ‘drop out’ from the play-off picture, usurped by a surging run of form.  I must confess that, despite usually trying to be a positive character, I increasingly fear that ‘drop out’ will be us.

Certainly I’m not all doom and gloom at the moment, there’s still time to put things right but our run of results of late is undeniably concerning.  Particularly against ‘lowly’ teams (in league placing at least), which is why Saturday’s visit of Doncaster – you know, struggling-injury-ridden-Doncaster also has that increasingly familiar whiff of bananas about it.  Rotten bananas.

I can’t even eat bloody bananas now, I’m that fed up of slipping on the skins.

I hope Billy’s got a plan up his sleeve.  The very thing I love about this league, the competitiveness, the fact that anyone can beat anyone on their day, the number of teams still in contention to get promotion and all that jazz.  I’m starting to change my mind about it now, since we seem to be very much on the ‘being bitten on the arse’ end of these arrangements!

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