Nottingham Forest today suffered their second defeat in the space of a week as Blackburn Rovers came back from 1-0 down to win 3-1 at The City Ground. Matty Fryatt gave Forest a 1-0 lead going into half-time but second half goals from Alex Baptiste, Rudy Gestede and Jordan Rhodes saw Rovers produce a stunning comeback.
The game started very slowly with very few chances being created in first ten minutes. The first goal mouth action came in the 13th minute as Jack Hunt found himself in a fantastic position on the right hand side but failed to find Britt Assombalonga in acres of space in the box and instead placed the ball into Jason Steele's hands. Matty Fryatt had the first big chance of the match as he ran at the Blackburn defence but failed to find the finishing touch. However, Fryatt never looked like scoring the chance as you always fancied the defender to get the better of him. Forest now seemed to be upping the tempo in what was another disappointing start to the game. Michail Antonio picked the ball up in a dangerous position on the left hand side and put in a cross which just failed to find Britt Assombalonga who would have had a tap in. Britt Assombalonga was causing the Blackburn defence problems with his pace and movement and he won a free-kick as he skipped past their defence. David Vaughan stepped up to take it and failed to deliver as his shot was blocked comfortably. Forest finally managed to make the breakthrough in the 37th minute as Assombalonga found himself in a pocket of space and hit a beautiful shot on the outside of his right foot which hit the inside of the post but was followed in by Matty Fryatt to make it 1-0. Assombalonga then had another great chance to double Forest's advantage as he ran clear on the stroke of half time but hit his shot wide of the post when he should have done better.
Blackburn started to come back into the game at the start of the second half as they pushed up the pitch. Forest had conceded six goals in three games prior to this match and looked a liability again after a scrap in the area almost dropped for Jordan Rhodes to volley home. Blackburn dominated the start of the second half causing the Forest defence all sorts of problems. Then came what I think was the turning point in the game. Pearce made an incredibly strange decision in substituting Matty Fryatt for Henri Lansbury and at the same time Blackburn substituted Evans for Rudy Gestede. These subs showed the different intentions of the two sides. They got the equalizer they deserved in the 66th minute as the inform Ben Marshall but a dangerous ball into the box which was blasted home by Alex Baptiste at the back post. Pearce's substitution Lansbury almost immediately restored Forest's lead as Burke put in a low cross from the right hand side by Lansbury could only hit Jason Steele when it looked easier to score. Lansbury then picked the ball up again on the edge of the area and tried an ambitious effort which agonizingly hit the inside of the post. Blackburn then dealt what was the killer blow for Forest in the 75th minute as Dan Harding failed to prevent the ball coming into the box and it was headed home with ease by Rudy Gestede to make it 2-1 to the visitors. Forest then seemed to collapse as Jordan Rhodes picked up the ball and ran past Forest defender Michael Mancienne before smashing the ball low into the corner of the net in what was a fantastic finish to make it 3-1. Jamie Paterson then came on for Robert Tesche in the 80th minute but failed to make an impact in the game as he had several chances to cause the Blackburn problems. It could of been four or five for Blackburn in the final minutes as Forest pushed to get back into the game leaving themselves open. Blackburn then played the game out to claim a thoroughly deserved win against a Forest side looking short of ideas.
Overall, this was an absolutely shocking display from Forest and definitely the worst performance of the season so far. Even when Forest were leading 1-0 for majority of the game, it never felt like they would go on to win the game. The passing was disjointed as the team struggled to create chances. Pearce's game management was also questionable as taking Matty Fryatt off for Henri Lansbury when 1-0 up was a very strange decision. It was also concerning that when Forest conceded it almost seemed as though it was inevitable that Blackburn would then go on to win the game. There didn't appear to be any belief from the players probably due to the lack of leadership on the pitch. Players missing such as Andy Reid, Chris Cohen and Jack Hobbs provide that leadership and ability to drive the team forward. It is a very concerning time at the moment as with the way the team are playing in every area of the pitch you can't see where the next win is going to come from.
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