Another frustrating afternoon’s football, and another game without a win.
Forest are learning a cruel lesson about the realities of stepping into a higher division.
The strength of the signings and the post-promotion buzz had people in high places saying silly things.
But the reality is that the higher you climb in football, the more it becomes a case of “do or die”.
Charlton bagged an away win in midweek and will have been content to take a point from the City Ground.
And sadly, for all of our huffing and puffing, they have taken exactly what they came for.
A subdued Addicks performance saw Forest’s pacy breaks force enough chances to win two games.
The confidence was returning, the system seemed to be working, and the points looked to be en route.
Alas, the breakthrough never came and Charlton recovered to force chances of their own.
The overall result is yet another frustrating outcome, and another deflating week of staring at Forest in the bottom two of the table.
Forest’s biggest test will be riding the current storm.
Morale has been pummelled to breaking point on the back of three reasonable displays that have yielded almost nothing at all.
Two more games without a win and it will be time to buckle up and assume the brace position.
Our bad run is taking the tell-tale evolutionary steps to becoming a bad season.
A mention, also, for the banal Charlton supporters who - aside from occasionally turning to gesture to the Upper Bridgford - had not a song between them. A poor turnout, and an even poorer performance, from another set of supporters that harness perpetual delusions of grandeur.
We Forest fans are probably not as special as we like to think, but we're some way ahead of sorry sorts like this lot!
Ratings:
Smith – 7.5 – produced a world class save to keep a point on the table after a fairly typical afternoon of mediocre distribution.
Chambers – 4.5 – the struggle continues.
Wilson – 5.5 – a characteristically solid display, marred by several dopey moments allowing players to slip by him. Could have seen red.
Morgan – 6 – made a constant stream of essential blocks.
Bennett – 6.5 – full-throttle Bennett, perhaps a touch inhibited by a premature return from injury.
Perch – 7 – excellent ‘tackling back’ and a solid overall display, despite momentary teething problems having switched to right back.
Moussi –5.5 – confidence is, all of a sudden, in great scarcity and nobody embodies this quite like Guy Moussi. Around either penalty area his heart rises to his throat and his decision-making crumbles. He has lost, for now, the almost miraculous ability to pick out a pass in any situation.
Cohen – 7 – again the hardest worker, who again covered the most ground. Cohen’s transition from exemplary League One workhorse to fiery box-to-box star has been one of the brightest aspects of our promotion so far.
Martin – 7 – selfish, mercurial, inconsistent; a running homage to a certain Portuguese winger. But he is incredibly dangerous when he gets going. McCleary, his replacement this afternoon, performed well – but in my opinion Martin is a fairly good example of what rough diamond McCleary should be aiming for, in a technical sense at least.
Earnshaw – 7 – as busy as ever, and always likely to spin or flick his way into a goalscoring opportunity. The man oozes ‘Championship’ from every pore and, should his injury be at all serious, we will greatly miss his quality.
Tyson – 7.5 – a constant thorn in the side of Charlton’s defenders and holding midfielders. When Tyson is fit and interested he is remarkable to watch; chasing lost causes and crossing the field with searing speed. Unfortunately a few too many of those causes were lost ones this afternoon.
Subs:
Thornhill – 6.5 – very unlucky to be sent off, although some referees would have penalised his hand-ball in the penalty area.
McCleary – 7
Cole – 5
