Smith – 7.5 – personally I felt that, despite flapping at one or two crosses, he commanded his area with far greater authority than we are used to.
Chambers – 5.5 – I don’t want to make Chambers-bashing a regular pastime, but he is getting caught out far too often at this level. I’m in a good enough mood to suggest that, perhaps, he’ll settle in with more games.
Breckin [C] – 7 – I trembled at the prospect of Ian Breckin versus a Championship attack, but this afternoon he read the game superbly and won some vital battles. He was caught out a few times, and he still loves curling the ball into the top corner of the stand, but this was a very solid display.
Morgan – 7 – compensated for one or two lapses of concentration by dumping several challengers on to their backsides and living up to the song we sing about him.
Bennett – 6.5 – keen as always to put his body on the line and this was a good display at the back, without exactly moving worlds.
Perch – 6.5 – after sitting out much of the first half with a niggling lack of talent, he broke up the play and tackled back excellently as we held on for the win.
Moussi – 7.5 – he shall forever be compared to his performance against Reading, which was literally perfect, but there’s no doubting the Moose’s credentials as a vital Nottingham Forest player. He’s always on hand to pass to, he always finds a pass, and he has greater enterprise – as a central midfielder – than we have witnessed at Forest for years.
Cohen – 8 – similar to last weekend at Swansea, Cohen went above and beyond the call of duty to cover every blade of grass on the pitch. He was scrapping in every defensive battle, but he was up to support every attack.
McCleary – 6.5 – acceleration, confidence on the ball, the willingness to run at defenders; he has all of the credentials to succeed, and I’d like to see how he fares after 5-6 games in this role. Today it was a bit too much for him.
Earnshaw – 7.5 – a constant headache for the opposing defence, and benefited hugely from the support he received.
Martin – 8 – Man of the Match – probably just about our best player for the second week running. He can cross, he can shoot, he can dribble, he can pass, he’s exceedingly pacy. What’s the catch? There’s always a catch.
Subs:
Tyson – 7.5 – scored a vital goal and his pace wreaked havoc.
Sinclair – 6
Cole – 6
