As the full-time whistle sounded after a 90 minute slog in North London, a Nottingham Forest side soundly seen off by three goals to one by Tottenham was led off the pitch by the man who had arguably the biggest impact on the games scoreline.
At fault for two of the hosts goals as well as heading home one of his own with ten minutes left to go, club captain Joe Worrall was the subject of heated online debate in the wake of his performance at White Hart Lane.
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While some fans were quick to place the 26 year-old under fire for his showing against Tottenham alone, others sought to pick out the centre-backs performances over the course of the entire campaign for criticism as well, with the Spurs defeat acting as the catalyst for their claims.
It is certainly true that no player is exempt from criticism and that certainly applies to Worrall, but he would be the first person to tell you that. The locally raised defender has risen his way through to the captaincy of the club in no small part due to his honesty and application of the standard expected at Nottingham Forest.
In fact, in a brutally honest post-match interview in his debut season back in 2017, a fresh-faced and youthful Worrall bravely refrained from holding back in his demands for a better attitude from his fellow teammates, telling cameras that "some players were too quick to drop their heads" and that "wasn't good enough."
His performances on the pitch in the clubs rise to the Premier League were certainly helpful as well, with the likes of then top flight side Burnley joining up with Wolverhampton Wanderers and West Ham United in their pursuit of him.
It is fair, then, to say that Worrall's level of performance hasn't quite followed him into the Premier League in every game this season. As well as the game just gone by, he was infamously bullied by the ever-dangerous Erling Haaland at the Etihad back in August, as well as during one infamous game at home as The Reds disappointingly collapsed in a 3-2 defeat to Bournemouth.
However, in the same vein as which Worrall has had his share of poor showings, he has also had plenty of performances to be proud of. He overcame his Sky Blue demons when Man City came to The City Ground just a few games ago and was impeccable in his partnership with Felipe. The same could be said for when Spurs visited twice in both the league and the league cup. They won their league tie but were seen off comfortably in the cup, with Worrall performing superbly in both games; blameless for the goals scored and vital to the prevention of any others.
It's worth noting, too, what Worrall provides to the squad in terms of his mentality and work-rate, although that has rarely come into question. As far as a role model captain goes, it has always seemed like a matter of when and never if he would rise to take the armband one day. While previous skipper Lewis Grabban spent a large portion of the Championship season injured, Worrall stepped up and filled his place superbly, and practically led his side back to the big time.
It may turn out to be that Worrall slides into that unfortunate compartment resident to the likes of Grant Hanley and Tim Ream of being far too good for the Championship but not quite up to scratch in the Premier League (although, Ream has certainly put a lot in place to rid himself of that label this season) but as far as this season is concerned alone, the time is not now to attribute that title to him yet.
It is commonplace, and unfortunately understandably so, in the modern footballing world to point the finger at someone and attribute blame towards them when someone's team underperforms and doesn't get the result they want to see. The era of scapegoating can all to often ostracize talented yet unfortunate players into being painted with a tainted brush, as fellow Forest talent and vice-captain Ryan Yates will always serve as a reminder of.
This is not the first time Worrall has faced his critics, either. When the nation was thrust into lockdown and Forest's playoff push was thrown into the wind, his performances were placed under the harshest of online microscopes. While Yates is the the case more widely focused in on when it comes to players who have had to ride a wave of criticism online, Worrall had his fair share of it too during this time. When Sabri Lamouchi decided to go with the Englishman rather than then fan favourite Alex Milosevic in his debut 2-1 loss to West Brom back in 2019, he was subject to claims that he may not be good enough for the Championship, following along from a disappointing spell in Scotland with Steven Gerrard's Rangers.
Point is, there have been several occasions in Forest's longest-serving active player's career where he has been deemed not good enough. The earliest breakthrough days of his career saw him claimed as promising, but not long after that he was seen as mediocre at best. Still from there has he risen into a better, stronger and much more intellectually mature footballer and man than he was expected to be.
While time is never on any relegation candidates side when it comes to the Premier League, it's patience and understanding that Worrall needs to succeed at this level. We know his quality and there have been plenty of times this season where he has shown that he has the quality to play at this level, but more so important is his love for the club and passion that he puts into playing for the badge.
Take his performance against Tottenham. He struggled early doors, true, to contend with the Spurs attack in the same way he struggled away at West Ham. He lost Harry Kane in the box for the first goal and hauled down Richarlison in the area to give the England captain a second from the spot. But in the immediate aftermath of the goal, he actually played very well.
A player who makes two mistakes leading to goals in one game could be forgiven for letting their head drop and allow the game to pass them by, but that simply will not slide when it comes to Worrall. He pushed on and continued to set the standard for the rest of his teammates and repelled everything else Spurs threw his way, save for a beautiful Heung-Min Son flick that evaded Serge Aurier at the back post to add a third to the North London hosts. Alongside his improvement, so too came his teams as Forest rallied within the last half an hour or so, with Worrall himself heading home his first Premier League goal and Fraser Forster denying big chances from Brennan Johnson and Morgan Gibbs-White as the game dwindled down, as well as a tame Andre Ayew penalty at the death.
The life of a defender is always a tough one. A striker or a forward could miss a few big chances but still come away from a game being praised for their effort rather than their output, like the case has been for the likes of Sam Surridge and, in the first half of the campaign anyway, Brennan Johnson. A defender, however, could make a big error in the manner Worrall did and continue to put everything into his game, but the focus would remain on what they did wrong.
That remains the case with Joe Worrall. He has shown that he can be effective at this level and we know that he possesses the quality to lead the side to better things and better form, but he needs backing and support to get there. Forest have arguably looked a better side during their fantastic nine game unbeaten home run, and that rings true to the impact that the captain can have when he is at his best.