Birmingham Home Pre-Match Preview

On Sunday (28th December 2014), Forest have the chance to wipe the 3-0 defeat to Middlesbrough out of their memory as they face Birmingham City at the City Ground. Forest's winless run is increasing game by game, with the last victory coming on the 22nd November when they beat Wolves 3-0 at Molineux. They need to somehow put this run to an end against Birmingham by securing the three points.

Birmingham City have had a turbulent couple of years since their relegation from the Premier League and winning the Capital One Cup in dramatic style against Arsenal. They managed to survive from relegation in the last minute of last season as Paul Caddis scored against Bolton Wanderers to secure their survival in the Championship. Birmingham started this season in the same terrible form which they had throughout majority of last season. They suffered an embarrassing 8-0 defeat to Bournemouth at St Andrews on the 25th October. However, since there has been a revolution at Birmingham. Manager Lee Clark was sent on his way after that defeat and was replaced with well respected Burton Albion manager Gary Rowett. Since this appointment, Birmingham have looked a completely different side. He has secured some impressive results including the 2-1 victory against Forest a couple of weeks back. However, he suffered one of his worst days since taking charge on Boxing Day as they suffered a 4-0 defeat at home to Derby County. In comparison, Forest's season has collapsed dramatically since being top for majority of the beginning of the season. Forest haven't recorded a win since their 3-0 win over Wolves at Molineux on the 22nd November. It has been a run of two defeats and three draws. It has been the amount of draws for Forest which have made their league position suffer. They have to start turning those draws into wins in order to push themselves back up the league table. Last time out, they suffered a horrendous 3-0 defeat away to Middlesbrough.

The Forest player's poor body language after losing 3-0 to Middlesbrough on Boxing Day at the Riverside Stadium. 






Forest face no new injury concerns ahead of this game with Birmingham. Dexter Blackstock should be back in contention after missing out with a knock on Boxing Day. Henri Lansbury should also be back after suffering from an illness. Jack Hobbs may also return to the squad after returning from a long term injury. Other than that it is only long-term absentees Andy Reid and Chris Cohen who remain unavailable to Stuart Pearce. 

My prediction for this game is Nottingham Forest 1-1 Birmingham City. I think Forest will draw again at home as I think they are very low on confidence at this moment in time. I think Birmingham may take the lead in the first half and Forest will just have enough to get back on terms later on in the game. I think Forest badly need a win, so much so that it will put huge pressure on the players which they will not be able to deal with. However, I hope Forest get back to winning ways and turn their season around.

Middlesbrough 3-0 Nottingham Forest

Nottingham Forest continued their dreadful run of form and slide down the league table with a 3-0 defeat away to Middlesbrough at the Riverside. Second half goals from George Friend, Vossen and Grant Leadbitter were enough to secure all three points for Middlesbrough.

Forest started the first half off probably the best they had done in a long time. They looked more solid defensively and were playing the ball on the floor a bit more than they had done of late. Middlesbrough were also playing the ball around well, which was expected as they are high on confidence and flying at the minute. George Friend appeared to be the most threatening Middlesbrough player in the first half, putting in a very good performance. The opening minutes, were limited to half chances for both teams, with no real clear cut action. George Friend was denied twice by Karl Darlow with the first being a fantastic save. Darlow helped Forest make it to the break with a clean sheet, mainly due to his brilliance to deny a couple of long range Friend efforts. Other than that, Forest managed to nullify Middlesbrough's threat and limit them to few chances, making them reasonably happy with their first half performance.

Stuart Pearce decided to make a change at the break with David Vaughan replacing top scorer Britt Assombalonga. This was a very questionable decision from Pearce who now left himself open for criticism. Then came the first goal of the game, George Friend leaped highest in the box, and headed home with Darlow having no chance. Looking back at the goal, it was Danny Fox who was at fault after failing to deal with the corner. Robert Tesche was unlucky not to equalize as his long range effort went just wide of the goal. Danny Fox then should have done better as his header went straight at the Middlesbrough keeper. Forest started to create more chances with Fryatt also heading straight at the keeper from a Ben Osborn cross. Then came the turning point in the game as Kelvin Wilson was sent off for a second bookable offence. Vossen then sealed the three points for Middlesbrough as he fired into the bottom corner of the net to make it 2-0. Middlesbrough then got a penalty after Bamford went down from Darlow's challenge. Grant Leadbitter stepped up and smashed it home to make it 3-0 to Middlesbrough and claim all three points.

Overall, it was a shocking result and performance from Forest. It was an unacceptable display and Pearce has to recognize that the players aren't performing to the standard that they should be doing. The three goals given away were all very poor and could have been prevented. It was a stupid sending off from Wilson's point of view to make an already difficult game even harder. Forest now have a game in two days time against Birmingham City to bounce back.

Middlesbrough Away Pre-Match Preview

On Friday (26th December 2014), Forest have the huge challenge of getting back to winning ways against Middlesbrough away at the Riverside Stadium. It has been another poor run of form from Forest since their 3-0 win at Molineux on the 22nd November. Forest will now look to end this run in what would be a very impressive result if they were to win at the Riverside.

Middlesbrough have had a sensational start to this season, and arguably one of the most consistent performers in the Championship so far. Aitor Karanka didn't start off great last season, but now he has had the time to implement his plans and his ideas and this is now showing on the pitch and the results Middlesbrough are now getting. Middlesbrough currently sit 4th in the Championship just three points off top spot. They have recorded eleven wins, six draws and and five defeats. Last time out however, Middlesbrough did fall to a 2-0 defeat away to Ipswich Town. Karanka criticized his players performances and claimed it was one of the worst he had seen since taking charge. He thought that his team believed they were a 'Champions League team' after the 2-0 win over Derby County. This defeat may have reduced confidence within the Middlesbrough camp, maybe giving Forest some hope on Boxing Day. In comparison, Forest's season has collapsed dramatically since being top for majority of the beginning of the season. Forest haven't recorded a win since their 3-0 win over Wolves at Molineux on the 22nd November. It has been a run of one defeat and three draws. It has been the amount of draws for Forest which have made their league position suffer. They have to start turning those draws into wins in order to push themselves back up the league table. Last time out Forest drew 1-1 at home to Leeds United which was a very disappointing result not helped by some shocking decisions from the officials.




Forest old boy Patrick Bamford celebrates putting Middlesbrough 1-0 up against Forest's arch rivals Derby County.






Forest have no fresh injury concerns ahead of this match, with more positive news on the long-term absentees. Jack Hobbs returned to full training a couple of days ago, but is very unlikely to be part of the match day squad. Stuart Pearce also revealed that Andy Reid will be returning to full training next week. Having both of those players back fully fit will be a huge boost to the team and maybe be the start of a good run of results. Forest will have to nullify the threat from former player Patrick Bamford if they are to return with anything from the Riverside.

My prediction for this game is Middlesbrough 4-0 Nottingham Forest. I think this will be the hardest game Forest have faced so far this season and I therefore can't see them coming home with anything from the game. I think Patrick Bamford, Albert Adomah and others will cause the Forest defence all sorts of problems. It is a shame that Jack Hobbs isn't back in time for this game as he would make the defence a lot more solid. However, you never know what might happen in the Championship, and there are usually a couple of freak results on Boxing Day.

Nottingham Forest 1-1 Leeds United

Nottingham Forest's frustration was increased as Leeds United came back from behind to snatch a 1-1 draw at the City Ground. Matty Fryatt scored late on in the first half to put Forest ahead. Billy Sharp then cancelled Fryatt's goal out by converting from the penalty spot early on in the second half. The game was surrounded by controversy as Fryatt had two more goals disallowed which appeared to be onside.

It was a very scrappy start to the game, but it was still obvious that Forest were very low on confidence after failing to win since the 3-0 victory at Wolves. Leeds came closest to taking the lead in the early part of the game as Mowatt's shot took a deflection which saw it go just wide. Then came the first bit of controversy in the game at around the 20th minute mark. Antonio caused Leeds all sorts of problems in the box before finding Matty Fryatt who prodded home only for the linesman to have his flag up for offside. However, replays show that Fryatt was onside due to Sam Byram playing him on. This was the first poor and costly decision the referee made in the game. The game was then interrupted as another pitch invader came onto the pitch, a sight which is becoming familiar at the City Ground this season. He managed to avoid several stewards before being taken down pretty much in the Forest dugout. Dexter Blackstock appeared to be struggling with a slight knock and he was taken off in the 41st minute and replaced by Britt Assombalonga. Many fans will say that it should have started this way in the first place. Forest then took the lead in the match in injury time in the first half. Lansbury's corner was headed on by Michael Mancienne giving Fryatt the easiest goal he will score this season to put Forest 1-0 up.

Leeds came out and started the second half brightly, which came at no surprise considering they needed to find a way back into the game. Their way back into the game came as Sam Byram dribbled past several challenges in the area and was then foolishly taken down by Danny Fox. This gave Billy Sharp the chance to level the scores from the spot which he did as he smashed it down the middle of the goal. Then came the second piece of controversy in the game as Matty Fryatt ran through from a flick on and smashed the ball into the net, he was again ruled out by the linesman for offside. This time Sky replays were shown live in the ground which clearly showed Fryatt was onside much to the home crowd's displeasure. This meant Fryatt pretty much had scored a hat trick with two of his goals being unfairly ruled out. This left Forest yet again frustrated at full time.

Overall, I have been left in frustration for many reasons from this game. Even without those decisions going against us, we still should have had enough to beat that Leeds team comfortably. It was obvious from the first five minutes that Leeds were not a very good team at all and that Forest must win the game. However, Forest still played pretty poor football at times and gave possession away too easily. I do understand however that Forest would have won the game 3-1 had the referee and his team been of a better quality meaning that we could have dropped a vital two points.

Leeds Home Pre-Match Preview

On Saturday (20th December 2014), Forest will look to get their first win since beating Wolves 3-0 at Molineux on 22nd November. It has been a winless run of three games since with pretty average performances from the team. It is now time for Stuart Pearce's men to start to find some form at the start of the festive period to try and close in on the play-offs.

Leeds United have had a pretty poor start to the season, arguably not helped by the constant chopping and changing by Italian chairman Massimo Cellino. Neil Redfearn is now currently in charge of Leeds for the second time this season and is trying to steady the boat. However, it has been a very difficult situation to try and control but he has managed to pick up several impressive results here and there. On their day, Leeds can still be a very good team at this level but too many times this season they have failed to turn up and been punished. The last time they did turn up was on the 29th November at home to our arch rivals Derby County when they won 2-0 with a very impressive performance. Mirco Antenucci scored twice, and will prove a significant threat to Forest's defence this weekend. He is probably the stand out player for Leeds and is a lethal finisher in front of goal. Leeds have since then performed very poorly losing their last two games. The first one of these was when they lost 4-1 at Ipswich Town followed up by a 1-0 defeat at home to Fulham. This could suggest that Leeds are low on confidence and there for the taking. In comparison, Forest's form hasn't been much better of late. Since winning 3-0 at Molineux around a month ago, Forest have lost one and drawn two. The performances haven't been good enough, and the team will have to start performing a lot better if they hope to achieve anything at the end of this season. Forest are now sitting five points off the play-off places, a number which seems to be increasing alarmingly every week. You would have to say that this sort of game is a must win if Forest want to get anywhere near those play-off places come the end of the campaign. Last time out Forest took part in a very dull 0-0 affair at the New York Stadium against Rotherham. Forest will look to produce a much better spectacle this time out.

Hugo Rodallega celebrates securing a 1-0 win for Fulham at Elland Road last weekend.






Stuart Pearce confirmed this week that he has a fully fit squad to choose from this week excluding the long-term injuries to Jack Hobbs, Andy Reid and Chris Cohen. It is also hoped that Jack Hobbs and Andy Reid should return shortly to match fitness which would be a huge boost to Forest and their promotion aspirations. The competition for places will be high and Stuart Pearce is again likely to make changes here and there to his team from the one which started last weekend against Rotherham United. Forest this week were hit by a transfer embargo, making the return of Jack Hobbs and Andy Reid become even more important in the coming weeks.

My prediction for this game is Nottingham Forest 1-1 Leeds United. I think both are performing pretty poorly at the moment, and I think it will end up being a score draw. I think Leeds could take advantage of Forest's usually very poor starts and go 1-0 up. I then think Forest might just have enough to find an equalizer and take a point away from the game. Hopefully, I am wrong and Forest produce a much improved performance from the ones they have been producing recently but I seem to be saying this every week and it just never happens. A win would provide a massive boost ahead of what already looks like a massively difficult task away at Middlesbrough on Boxing Day.

Rotherham United 0-0 Nottingham Forest

Nottingham Forest's poor run of form continued as they played out a goalless draw with Rotherham United at The New York Stadium. It was a very poor spectacle, with very few clear cut chances for either side. It was arguably Forest's worst performance of the season so far, a statement I worryingly seem to be stating every week, suggesting the performances are getting even worse.

Forest almost started the game by immediately going 1-0 down. Kelvin Wilson did a back pass towards Karl Darlow who misjudged it and took and missed the ball completely. Luckily for Forest he managed to avoid getting himself into any trouble on this occasion. Kelvin Wilson himself went down with what looked a very serious injury soon after, which was a worry to Forest fans considering how much playing time he has missed through injury in the past. Fortunately it was not as serious as first thought and Wilson was fit enough to continue playing the match. Forest struggled to get any flow in the game as Rotherham were pressing well and giving the Forest players no time on the ball whatsoever. Britt Assombalonga missed a half chance to put Forest 1-0 ahead, Michail Antonio's inviting cross was prodded wide by Assombalonga on the stretch. Ben Pringle then almost put Rotherham 1-0 up at the other end but his shot failed to trouble Karl Darlow. Assombalonga had another chance to put Forest ahead, as his header from Danny Fox's cross went wide. Rotherham then came incredibly close to going 1-0 up just before the break. Ledesma fouled Dexter Blackstock and got away with it before smashing a shot against the crossbar much to the Forest faithful's relief.

Forest started the second half brightly as Henri Lansbury headed the ball over the crossbar from yet another inviting cross from the left hand side. Forest then had the ball in the back of the net as Dexter Blackstock headed the ball over the line. However, it was controversially ruled out for a foul by Blackstock. Ben Pringle then had one of the best chances in the match to put Rotherham 1-0 up but fired well over the bar. Karl Darlow then had to be at his best to deny Ledesma from putting Rotherham infront with a good save with his legs. Then came Forest's best chance as Jamie Paterson whipped in a great cross which Britt Assombalonga just failed to connect with. This left Forest yet again disappointed with their performance and the final result.

Overall, this just wasn't good enough from a Forest side who should be performing much better. The team we have should be beating teams like Rotherham United, Charlton Athletic and Birmingham City. I don't blame Stuart Pearce for the recent poor results, I blame the players. The players need to work harder and perform to the levels which they are capable of and have shown in glimpses this season but not enough. When this team is on form it is one of the best teams in the division, but we haven't seen this enough, only at the beginning of the season and at the away game at Wolves which now seems such a long time ago. You now look at the Leeds game thinking it is a must win as I can't see Forest coming back from Middlesbrough with anything on Boxing Day, although it is the Championship. Stuart Pearce and his men have a lot of work to do if promotion is to be achieved this season.

Rotherham Away Pre-Match Preview

On Saturday (13th December 2014), Forest will look to get back to winning ways after their pretty average 1-1 draw at home to Charlton Athletic last weekend. It wasn't good enough from Forest who will be looking to vastly improve on that performance this week. They need to start producing much better performances to get some form going over the Christmas period and will start this Saturday when they visit The New York Stadium to face Rotherham United.

Rotherham United secured their place in the Championship in dramatic style last season as they won the League One play-off final against Leyton Orient in a penalty shootout. Steve Evan's men haven't been in very good form of late though after picking up a couple of impressive results early on in the campaign. Their last win came on October 17th as they beat local rivals Leeds United 2-1 at the New York Stadium, much to the delight of the home support. However, they haven't won since then meaning they have gone eight games straight without a victory. Their last outing was a credible 0-0 draw away at Cardiff City which could give themselves something to build on this weekend. Their desperate need for a win could make them tougher opposition for Forest this weekend. In comparison, Forest have also been struggling to get any form together recently. This is shown that it in their last three games they have won one, drawn one and lost one. The performances have also been very inconsistent as they have failed to find the level of performance they produced in the 3-0 win away at Wolves ever since. However, Forest do only sit three points off the play-off places meaning that this is a very important match which on paper they should be winning. A win would provide a massive boost for the team going into the run of festive fixtures.

The Rotherham United players celebrate securing promotion to the Sky Bet Championship at Wembley.






Forest have no fresh injury concerns ahead of the trip to the New York Stadium. Henri Lansbury has recovered from a slight back problem he suffered against Charlton last weekend. Chris Burke and Danny Fox have also recovered from a bug going around during the week. This means that Stuart Pearce has got a fully fit squad to choose from apart from long-term absentees Jack Hobbs, Andy Reid and Chris Cohen. Forest received some great news during the week in the fact that Hobbs and Reid should be back playing around Christmas which is a huge boost to the side.

My prediction for this game is Rotherham United 0-3 Nottingham Forest. I think Forest are well overdue a good performance and I think today is the day for it. I don't think Rotherham are a particularly good side and I think Forest should comfortably win here on paper. Britt Assombalonga will be fit and fired up after missing out through suspension last weekend, making it a perfect opportunity for him to add to his tally. I think the sold out away end will lead Forest onto what would be a very precious victory.

Nottingham Forest 1-1 Charlton Athletic

Nottingham Forest continue to struggle to find any sort of form in the Sky Bet Championship this season as they drew 1-1 at home to Charlton Athletic at The City Ground. Callum Harriot's deflected strike off Michael Mancienne had given Charlton the lead early on, but was cancelled out in the second half by a wonder strike from Robert Tesche which prevented Charlton from taking home all three points.

The game started pretty slowly and scrappy as both sides attempted to get a foothold in the game. Henri Lansbury picked up his 9th yellow card of this season for a blatant foul on Cousins. This seems to be a new part of his game this season where if the game isn't going his way he just lashes out and picks up needless yellow cards. Due to Forest's form this season, this seems to be happening every game and it won't be long until he is suspended again. Chartlon then took the lead in the 9th minute as Callum Harriot's volley took a deflection off Michael Mancienne's leg which took it past Karl Darlow into the bottom corner. This was proving to be a very, very poor first half performance from Forest as the team provided little to get the crowd going. It could have been 2-0 to Charlton as a great cross opened up the Forest defence but Vetokele could only head the ball at Karl Darlow in the Forest goal. You would of put your house on Vetokele converting that sort of chance with the form he has been showing so far this season. Michail Antonio was looking the only threat for Forest, in what was arguably one of his best personal performances over 90 minutes. He combined well with Lansbury to give him a good chance but his shot was straight at the goalkeeper.

Stuart Pearce decided to make a change at half time with Robert Tesche replacing Henri Lansbury. This seemed a wise move as Lansbury wasn't playing very well, and looked in massive danger of being sent off having already picked up a yellow card. Jamie Paterson could have won a penalty early in the second half as his turn caused the Charlton defence problems and he appeared to have been brought down but the referee didn't give it. Watching it back, I believe this was a definite penalty. Tesche didn't take long to make an impact in the game as in the 59th minute he scored what will be one of the goals of the season. He took the ball down on his chest and volleyed home from long range. His celebration was just as good as he did a couple of flips to celebrate drawing Forest level. Forest were performing much better in the second half and Jamie Paterson came close to putting Forest 2-1 ahead as his shot went just wide of the post. Dexter Blackstock came on in the 76th minute for a rare appearance which have been limited so far this season. Forest piled on the pressure in the last 15 minutes but just couldn't find that elusive second goal to win them the match.

Overall, this was a very strange game from Forest's point of view. The first half was probably the worst performance from Forest so far this season and the second was a much improved performance and Forest maybe in the end deserved to win the game. However, Forest cannot continue to play so poorly in the first half of games, we have to start well to give ourselves a good chance of winning. You are always going to be struggling to win games when you play so poorly for half the match. I am sure this is what Stuart Pearce will be looking to improve on, in the upcoming trip to Rotherham United.

Charlton Home Pre-Match Preview

On Saturday (6th December 2014), Forest will be looking to bounce back straight away from their defeat to Birmingham City last weekend. It was an unfortunate loss for Forest as they lost in controversial fashion in the final minute of the game. They will look to get back to the level of performance they produced at Wolves to try and get back to winning ways at home to Charlton Athletic.

Charlton Athletic have been one of the surprise packages of the season so far. They were predicted by many people to have a season of struggle after just staying up in the Championship last season. New manager Bob Peeters probably wasn't expected to do anymore than keep Charlton in the Championship this season, but so far they are massively exceeding these expectations currently sitting 10th in the league. However, Charlton's results have dropped off recently, after the almost faultless start they made to the campaign. They have only won once in their last six matches, this being a 1-0 win away at Reading. Vetokele is a player Forest will have to look out for as he has been in fantastic form so far this season and has been the key reason in their very respectable league position. Most recently, Charlton lost 1-0 at home to Ipswich in what was a very scrappy affair, settled by a late strike from Ipswich debutant Noel Hunt. Charlton will consider themselves unlucky to lose this match and will be looking to bounce back at the City Ground this weekend. In comparison, Forest suffered a very disappointing and controversial defeat to Birmingham City last weekend. A late controversial penalty was given to Birmingham City and was converted to consolidate Forest to a 2-1 defeat. However, Forest cannot be too disheartened by this result after two impressive wins against Norwich City and Wolverhampton Wanderers. If Forest can recreate the performance they produced at Wolves they have a great chance of beating any team in this division. However, Forest's form overall in the past few months has been very poor with only two wins in twelve games. This is not good enough for promotion which is what Forest are hoping to achieve this season.

The Forest player's dispute with the referee after the fourth official influences the referee to give a penalty in the 2-1 defeat to Birmingham City.







There are no new injury concerns ahead of the visit of Charlton Athletic on Saturday. The only forced absentee is Britt Assombalonga who is serving his one match ban after getting sent off for handball last weekend against Birmingham City. Apart from that there are no other new injuries to note. Andy Reid and Jack Hobbs are said to be progressing well with their long term injuries so they will hopefully be back around the back end of the festive period. The only other long term injury is Chris Cohen who will miss the rest of the season through injury.

My prediction for this game is Nottingham Forest 1-0 Charlton Athletic. I think it will be a very tight scrappy win for Forest. This is the sort of game Forest always struggle in when we have to take the game to the opposition. Charlton are also a very solid outfit and won't be easy to breakdown especially now we are missing the pace of Britt Assombalonga. I fancy Dexter Blackstock to get his first start of the season and maybe even nick a goal. I would take this kind of win just to keep spirits high before the run of festive fixtures coming up.

Birmingham City 2-1 Nottingham Forest

Nottingham Forest failed to make it three wins in a row in the Championship as they fell to a 2-1 defeat to Birmingham City at St Andrews. David Cotterill gave the Blues the lead. This was cancelled out by a second half goal from the Championship's top scorer Britt Assombalonga but Paul Caddis secured the three points for Birmingham late on by converting a controversial penalty.

Forest came out of the blocks looking the better team in the early stages. Michail Antonio went on one of his runs down the line that Forest fans have become so used to seeing. Antonio then delivered in a very inviting cross into the danger area, but no one in Forest colours could connect to put Forest 1-0 ahead. Forest's good start counted for nothing a couple of minutes later as David Cotterill put Birmingham 1-0 up with a superb left footed strike in to the top corner of the net. Karl Darlow was left helpless in the Forest goal as it went in off the underside of the bar. Birmingham could have found themselves 2-0 up soon after as young star Demarai Gray played through Clayton Donaldson for a great chance, but Darlow made himself big to tip the shot over the crossbar. Britt Assombalonga then had a few chances to level the scores at 1-1. He first had a chance from a Ben Osborn corner as he headed the ball over the crossbar when he maybe could have done better with the effort. He then attempted what was a very ambitious long range shot on the counter attack when he perhaps should have passed to continue what was looking like a very promising counter attack for Forest. Birmingham then almost had a huge stroke of luck as Paul Caddis had a shot which took a huge deflection off Danny Fox and almost caught Darlow off guard as it crashed against the crossbar. Forest were very lucky not to find themselves 2-0 down. Chris Burke was playing for the first time against his former club and had a good low shot saved comfortably by Randolph. This then signaled the end of the first half, with Forest having considerable chances but not performing as well as they had at Wolves just a week ago.

Matty Fryatt was influential in that victory at Molineux and he did some good work again setting up Henri Lansbury who's wild shot was a long way off target. Chris Burke got substituted after 63 minutes and was replaced by Jamie Paterson who played well in his short stint at Wolves. Forest then went to three at the back, in an attempt to get back into the game, a very similar formation to which worked against Norwich a couple of weeks ago. Jamaal Lascelles almost made a costly error as his slip allowed Clayton Donaldson to run at the Forest defence but Darlow stood up strong again to deny the striker for the second time in the match. Michail Antonio then had a chance to equalize for Forest as he received the ball in the box but his shot was hit right at Randolph. Forest then found a precious equalizer soon after as Jamie Paterson flicked on Eric Lichaj's cross from the right hand side and Britt Assombalonga was there to head home his 12th goal of the season so far. Assombalonga did however appear to be offside as the ball was flicked on by Paterson, much to the displeasure of the Birmingham players. Then came the big talking point in the game, Morrison headed the ball towards the Forest goal and Britt Assombalonga appeared to handball it on the line. However, the referee nor the linesman saw the incident and were both happy to give a corner. The fourth official then called over the referee stating it was a penalty even though he was stood at least 50 yards away from the action. The referee then took his word for it and gave the penalty and also sent off Assombalonga in the process for deliberate handball. Paul Caddis then stepped up to take the penalty and had the nerve to convert it into the bottom right hand corner under huge pressure. Tom Ince then had a great chance to equalize for Forest to make it 2-2 at the end of the match but his effort was cleared off the line.

Overall, this wasn't a particularly bad performance from Forest, they just lost in what was very unfortunate circumstances. Forest should have come back from St Andrews with at least a point and if the controversial penalty hadn't been given to Birmingham, I wouldn't have been surprised to see them go on to secure all three points. The biggest blow to Forest is the one match suspension to Britt Assombalonga who will now miss the game against Charlton on Saturday. Any team is going to miss a player of his quality considering he is the Championship's top goal scorer. I think Pearce should continue to play with this team and formation as I think it will get wins regularly in the Championship and take us into at least the play-off places very soon.