[madsteve]

A PERFECT AWAY DAY - ALMOST

A good journey, nice lunch, three points, a clean sheet & a quality performance; just that red card.

We decided to try the Notts County pre match experience for away fans, which was pretty decent. Easy parking & limited food choices but very good pies and multi screen tv allowing fans to watch early kick off games & other channels.

CC appeared to have picked a team to go 442 with Palmer & Loovens retained in defence, Wallace, McGeady & FF replacing Hutchinson, Matias & Joao. He actually set it up initially as a 4411 with but after about ten minutes it was clear that it was a pretty flexible formation with McGeady & Wallace more tucked in making it more of a 4231 or 4141 as Lee floated more forward.

I felt very confident pre match and thoughts of 442 and no Hutchinson knocked me a bit but I needn't have worried as we controlled CM pretty well after the first ten minutes.

We went close a couple of times before McGeady put us ahead on the half hour from an exquisite Bannan pass that left a defender with his legs in knots and McGeady with a straightforward finish. It should be noted that it was FF who had won us the ball with a good tackle in CM.

At half time 1-0 seemed like scant reward for a excellent performance where Forest represented little threat apart from the lively Mendez giving Pudil a bit of a run round. Just hoped that we wouldn't pay in the second half.

Forest started brightly but we soon arrested control and extended our lead just after the hour mark. FF winning the ball again and unselfishly setting up Hooper, who finished clinically. We then dominated possession for some time with some ole football that kept Forest well from our goal.

Then came the moment when it could have all unravelled. Bannan lunged in for a tackle just outside the Forest box and from a hundred yards away my initial reaction was that it looked like a red card. TV evidence suggests it was maybe harsh but when you jump into challenges like that, you give the referee a decision, particularly one who has shown himself to be red card happy.

It could have been a turning point but any fears were groundless. Nuhiu replaced Hooper (Lopez & Matias had already replaced Wallace & McGeady) to give us more height. You couldn't tell we were a man short and it was soon 3-0 after Nuhiu headed on and Matias turned cleverly to fire home.

Westwood - 7 - dominated his box but only routine saves to make
Palmer - 8 - third clean sheet in a row at Hull, Brighton & Forest, better going forward as well
Lees - 7 - solid & dependable
Loovens - 8 - real captain's performance, real leadership on the pitch
Pudil - 6 - given tough time by Mendez
Bannan - 8 - controlled match, didn't need that tackle
Lee - 8 - back to his best, floating into gaps
Wallace - 6 - quiet compared to others
FF - 8 - constant threat, worked hard, tackled tenaciously
McGeady - 7 - still a bit selfish but much improved
Hooper - 7 - good movement, excellent finish
.................................................................
Lopez - 7 - neat & tidy
Matias - 7 - worked harder & great goal
Nuhiu - 6 - neat header to set up Matias

Stat Attack:

Goals: 1 - McGeady, Hooper, Matias

Assists: 1 - Bannan, FF, Nuhiu

Touches: 75 - Lee, 73 - Palmer, 64 - Bannan, 54 - Westwood, Lees, 50 - Hooper, 48 - Pudil, 43 - FF, 40 - Loovens, 39 - McGeady, 37 - Wallace, 27 - Lopez, 16 - Nuhiu, 14 - Matias

Tackles: 13 - Lee, 3 - Wallace, FF, 2 - Loovens, Lees, Pudil, Matias, 1 - Palmer

Interceptions: 4 - Bannan, 3 - Palmer, 2 - McGeady, 1 - Loovens, Lees, Pudil, Lee, FF, Nuhiu

Clearances: 8 - Pudil, 7 - Loovens, 6 - Lees, 4 - Palmer, 2 - Lee, 1 - Westwood, Wallace, Bannan, Hooper

Attempts: 4 - FF, 3 - McGeady, 2 - Pudil, Hooper, 1 - Loovens, Lee, Bannan, Matias

Attempts On Target: 3 - FF, 2 - McGeady, 1 - Bannan, Hooper, Matias

Key Passes: 3 - Bannan, McGeady, 2 - Wallace, 1 - Lees, FF, Hooper, Nuhiu

Dribbles: 3 - McGeady, 2 - Hooper, 1 - Palmer, Lee, Bannan

Dispossessed: 3 - Hooper, Nuhiu, 2 - FF, 1 - Palmer, Loovens, Lees, Lee, McGeady

Bad Control: 3 - Lee, Hooper, 1 - Pudil, Wallace, FF, Nuhiu

Crosses (Accurate in brackets): 3 - Lee (1), McGeady (1), 2 - Wallace (2), Bannan (0), 1 - Palmer (0), FF - (0)

Passing Accuracy (Total Passes in Brackets):

Loovens - 96% (25), Bannan - 95% (55), Lopez - 92% (26), Matias - 91% (11), Pudil - 88% (33), FF - 86% (29), Lee - 82% (50), Palmer - 81% (57), McGeady - 79% (24), Lees - 79% (43), Hooper - 78% (37), Wallace - 70% (27), Nuhiu - 60% (10), Westwood - 31% (35)

I said after that the Brighton match that our run in started with the Forest match and we started with probably our best performance of the season. The quality of FF was a great advantage and we barely missed Hutchinson as several players stepped up to the mark. Our passing stats were the best of the season with eleven players managing 78% or better.

We controlled the whole match. Our defence looked quality. A third consecutive clean sheet in tough away matches with Palmer at RB might earn him more starts in easier games as he was outstanding again. Lees & Loovens were also outstanding. Bannan was everywhere with Lee dovetailing beautifully alongside him. FF & Hooper were constant threats while McGeady showed that he can win us points and Matias looked like the player we hoped he would be.

It was noticeable that we played very few crosses apart from set pieces and that we concentrated on passing & moving - far more effective with our skilful players and lack of height.

The only downside was the Bannan red card which will probably deprive us of a key player for three matches. He will be difficult to replace as no-one plays the same way & it will test CC, how to keep our momentum moving forward without him. Hopefully Hutchinson is able to play those matches to help keep a high intensity in CM.