A late own goal from former Forest man Jamaal Lascelles ensured Nottingham Forest recorded a third straight win in the Championship in what was an eventful match on Trentside, the hosts defeating Newcastle United 2-1.
Darlow comes back to haunt Forest
It was a relatively dull start with a very limited number of oppurtunities in the opening 30 minutes of the game. Matty Cash had the best chance during this period but his snapshot was kept out by Newcastle keeper Karl Darlow.
It was in the 33rd minute when they game came to life as Jonjo Shelvey was sent off for kicking out at Forest midfielder Henri Lansbury. This was a huge blow for Newcastle as Shelvey was running the game before this.
A penalty was also awarded by referee Stephen Martin but Nicklas Bendtner’s spot kick was kept out by a fantastic save from Karl Darlow.
The penalty save seemed to inspire Newcastle as they continued to dominate the game and possession. They were rewarded for their efforts shortly before half-time as Forest failed to clear their lines after Matty Cash lost the ball which allowed Matt Ritchie to stroke home from close range.
However, this was not the end of the first-half drama as Paul Dummett fouled Henri Lansbury when played through on goal and gave away yet another penalty and was also dismissed to put Newcastle down to nine men.
Henri Lansbury stepped up to take the penalty this time but was again denied by Darlow who ensured Newcastle went in at 1-0 at half-time.
Redemption for Bendtner
Philippe Montanier decided to make a change at the break with Britt Assombalonga coming on for Michael Mancienne as Forest looked for the win.
Nicklas Bendtner made up for his earlier penalty miss with the early second-half goal which Forest badly needed. A cross from Henri Lansbury caused the Newcastle defence all sorts of problems and after Assombalonga’s header, Bendtner was able to stab the ball past Darlow to level the scores.
Late heartbreak for the Toon
After defending so well for such a large period of time with nine men, Forest finally managed to get themselves in front late on.
Henri Lansbury’s corner again caused the Newcastle defence problems which resulted in Jamaal Lascelles turning the ball into his own net much to the Forest fan’s delight.
Poor week for Newcastle
This defeat ends what has been a terrible week for Rafael Benitez’s side which saw them lose 1-0 at home to Blackburn last weekend and knocked out of the EFL Cup by Hull City on penalties mid-week.
However, they are still sat top of the league and will be looking to bounce back at home to Birmingham City next weekend.
As for Forest, that result puts them up to 13th in the Championship league table before the other teams play tomorrow in what has been quite a remarkable turnaround for Montanier’s side.
Wins against Ipswich and Barnsley away and now the league leaders Newcastle at home, mean they go into the highly anticipated game against local rivals Derby County next weekend high on confidence.