For the first 45 minutes this was a timorous stand-off between two sides with very little on the agenda - and it was dull.
Lounging in the spring’s first real burst of sunshine I could comfortably have dozed off, and the half-time hugs and kisses in the "groundbreaking integration scheme" nearly finished the job.
But Forest are a settled side now, and for the first time in months quality alone supplied the points.
The tantrums and mood-swings both on and off the field have subsided, automatic promotion has been stoically conceded, the loss of players to both injury and frugality has at last been taken on the chin.
With dummies back in mouths Forest are a force to be reckoned with and the second half showed it.
Ipswich didn't come to contain or absorb, they had a spirited jab at Forest but the opening goal sent them sprawling.
Guy Moussi has grown into the side in the absence of McKenna, Tyson had his strongest game from the flank in some time, we defended bruskly but effectively.
A 3-0 win probably exaggerates our dominance, but midway through the second half I stirred from my slumber and realised that Ipswich had vanished without trace.
For all the po-faced debates about desirable play-off opponents, it’s worth remembering that we’re the team others will be looking to avoid.
From week to week my play-off aspirations and trepidations are wavering. The comfort with which we restrained Cardiff, in third gear throughout, and the ease of today’s points has restored my optimism.
I can still picture a weak-kneed Forest side crumbling without explanation against a fitter, healthier, hungrier Wembley opponent.
It’s a symptom of joining the Forest ranks in the mid-1990s with the descent in full throttle. It just fits in with Forest’s way.
But in his time at the club Billy Davies has treated the ‘Forest way’ with nothing but contempt. And the closer we get, the more I am starting to believe.
NB Condolences to Chandler Corner’s ‘jesus’ the steward who will surely be dismissed for having a sense of humour. The orange-coated Mediterranean security chief, a would-be Jason Bourne figure, was furious at the obvious signs of humanity.
Your job is to absorb and incinerate passion and interest, he will surely be told.
Ratings:
Camp – 7 – a quiet afternoon, dependable in the most part and gobbled up a couple of in-swinging second half corners.
Chambers – 7 – fairly trouble-free performance and, albeit by accident, he’s again on the scoresheet. I wasn’t exactly looking to the skies for answers as he hobbled off, but he’s doing ok.
Wilson – 7 – prone to dozey moments at either ends of the season and somebody will need to hit him with a wet fish before the play-offs. But he did the business today.
Morgan – 7.5 – a wall of a man. Sat Navs should come equipped with an ‘Avoid Wes Morgan’ option for the Championship’s ailing forwards. Give the man a pay-rise.
Gunter – 7 – having quality like Chris Gunter in our side is one of the main reasons why we’re in this position. Back in my day, lad, it were Nicky Eaden or Gino Padula.
Tyson – 7 – Ipswich are not bruisers and there was a lot of space on offer. Personally I felt he took advantage, though rather hap-hazardly, with an improved performance. In any case, he’s still a centre forward or nothing for me.
Moussi – 8 – he still has plenty of Ali Dia moments, but Billy is currently building the team around him in McKenna’s absence and he is stepping up to the plate.
Cohen – 7 – standard Cohen stuff. I’d give him a break now.
Anderson – 7 – the whippet. He’ll do damage between now and the end of the season because his energy is flawless.
Blackstock – 6.5 – another candidate for a short break.
Earnshaw – 7 – a busy afternoon, and a lot more effort than last week. When he needs goals, he gets them.
Subs:
Nah, can’t be arsed. Give them all a 7.
Saturday 10 April 2010
Monday 5 April 2010
Marching into Battle
It was always going to be a 0-0.
The TV cameras, the consternation of grappling a play-off rival, the fact that today's 'VIP legend' was Steve Chettle (whose honours include several man of the match awards...)
But it was a good 0-0; feisty and spirited - and viewed in a refreshingly proportionate context.
There has been a notable shift in the demands and expectations of the Forest crowd this weekend and the changes have been reflected on-pitch.
Gone are the cantankerous grumbles and accusing fingers. Today Forest had the determined air of troops marching into a battle, for better or worse.
Cardiff started the game confidently, all pomp and fury.
By the final 20 minutes they had both eyes on the clock and two hands cupped firmly around their balls. We had them wobbling, and the pressure which sparked handbags within their own ranks is not something they have faced often in 2010.
For the first time tonight I saw some evidence that Forest have adapted to the various blows. If Rob Earnshaw hadn't been wearing his Cardiff boxer shorts we'd have snatched all three points with ease.
We are not likely to match the vigour and glory of a side boasting Nicky Shorey, Paul McKenna and a host of players in career-defining form.
But finally we are waking up to the realities and adjusting to them. The compromise of our full-backs and the absence of a midfield water-carrier are still obvious, but they are no longer reducing us to shambles.
It has to carry on. We need to chalk up an away win and carry our home run into the play-offs.
A week ago I gave us no hope but something about our steel this afternoon has resuscitated my ailing faith. Billy just might do this.
Ratings:
Camp - 6.5 - virtually nothing to do
Chambers - 7 - a solid performance and one or two good crosses. He is only let down when we try to break with pace and he struggles to find the right pass
Wilson - 7.5 - strong and convincing throughout
Morgan - 7.5 - continues to look every inch a top-end Championship defender. There have been times Wes hasn't even looked like a footballer and, along with his manager, he deserves great praise.
Gunter - 8 - a storming performance, despite the ongoing setback of his limp left foot
Cohen - 7 - a consistent and prolific workhorse who will be worth his weight in platinum come the play-offs
Moussi - 7 - another strong performance but he again forgot how to kick half way through the second half. He's prone to that
Majewski - 7 - he's had busier games, but it was no disaster
Tyson - 6 - doesn't have the mettle to take players on. He belongs on the shoulder of the deepest defender, waiting to pounce. As a winger he's really not much good at all
Blackstock - 8 - a handful all afternoon, despite being punished seemingly for winning headers on several occasions
Earnshaw - 7 - decent all-round display but he really doesn't like to score against Cardiff. Next time he slaps his head like a true Cardiff reprobate he should be slapped with a fine
Subs:
McGoldrick - 7
McCleary - 7
The TV cameras, the consternation of grappling a play-off rival, the fact that today's 'VIP legend' was Steve Chettle (whose honours include several man of the match awards...)
But it was a good 0-0; feisty and spirited - and viewed in a refreshingly proportionate context.
There has been a notable shift in the demands and expectations of the Forest crowd this weekend and the changes have been reflected on-pitch.
Gone are the cantankerous grumbles and accusing fingers. Today Forest had the determined air of troops marching into a battle, for better or worse.
Cardiff started the game confidently, all pomp and fury.
By the final 20 minutes they had both eyes on the clock and two hands cupped firmly around their balls. We had them wobbling, and the pressure which sparked handbags within their own ranks is not something they have faced often in 2010.
For the first time tonight I saw some evidence that Forest have adapted to the various blows. If Rob Earnshaw hadn't been wearing his Cardiff boxer shorts we'd have snatched all three points with ease.
We are not likely to match the vigour and glory of a side boasting Nicky Shorey, Paul McKenna and a host of players in career-defining form.
But finally we are waking up to the realities and adjusting to them. The compromise of our full-backs and the absence of a midfield water-carrier are still obvious, but they are no longer reducing us to shambles.
It has to carry on. We need to chalk up an away win and carry our home run into the play-offs.
A week ago I gave us no hope but something about our steel this afternoon has resuscitated my ailing faith. Billy just might do this.
Ratings:
Camp - 6.5 - virtually nothing to do
Chambers - 7 - a solid performance and one or two good crosses. He is only let down when we try to break with pace and he struggles to find the right pass
Wilson - 7.5 - strong and convincing throughout
Morgan - 7.5 - continues to look every inch a top-end Championship defender. There have been times Wes hasn't even looked like a footballer and, along with his manager, he deserves great praise.
Gunter - 8 - a storming performance, despite the ongoing setback of his limp left foot
Cohen - 7 - a consistent and prolific workhorse who will be worth his weight in platinum come the play-offs
Moussi - 7 - another strong performance but he again forgot how to kick half way through the second half. He's prone to that
Majewski - 7 - he's had busier games, but it was no disaster
Tyson - 6 - doesn't have the mettle to take players on. He belongs on the shoulder of the deepest defender, waiting to pounce. As a winger he's really not much good at all
Blackstock - 8 - a handful all afternoon, despite being punished seemingly for winning headers on several occasions
Earnshaw - 7 - decent all-round display but he really doesn't like to score against Cardiff. Next time he slaps his head like a true Cardiff reprobate he should be slapped with a fine
Subs:
McGoldrick - 7
McCleary - 7
Saturday 3 April 2010
Three Blinks
It's very difficult to get excited about these pergatorial pre-playoff bouts. Conversely, it's very easy to be riled by them.
Having made the laborious and fairly wet journey alone I was feeling markedly uninspired in the build-up to kick-off.
Alas, within seconds of the game starting, I was alive with the spirit of rage.
The sodden pitch, the black skies, the slurring natives. Forest didn't fancy this. Three blinks after the first whistle we fell behind. Another blink later we ballooned possession into the stands from the re-start.
The travelling faithful were silent, glum. Billy was nesting in the back of his dugout. Guy Moussi was literally hopping with fury as aimless balls whisped gaily and relentlessly over his head.
It looked like a long afternoon, and for the first half an hour I saw no way into the game.
The hosts looked disturbingly but unequivocally stronger. That trip to Wembley seemed a long way off.
But Bristol City have been noted for their sluggishness all season. The urgency drained, the natives receeded, the legs wearied.
I'll stop a fair bit short of saying the difference in quality started to show, but Moussi's inexplicable and brilliant equaliser swung them game in Forest's favour.
Without ever fitting into the shadow cast by the great Forest side of late 2009 we took charge of proceedings.
In the second half we increasingly bossed possession and carved open the wings. Joe Garner, in a rare appearance as a - hold on to your seats - centre forward, could and should have won it from three yards out.
And of course the game couldn't finish without an invitation for a little more scarlet-faced fury.
The City goalkeeper fled his goal like a reeling whippet and lunged into a 50-50 tackle with Nathan Tyson.
He came off badly in a challenge that could just as easily have shattered Tyson's glass legs.
But the referee brandished a yellow card, awarded the hosts a free-kick, and spent the eight minutes of stoppage time awarding sympathy free-kicks to protect the centre forward dinosaur who deputised between the posts.
If I may be churlish for a moment - he bottled it.
In fear of the flammable home crowd he began to question his decision to 'only' book Tyson and couldn't face a late winner.
Although it's probably just as well we didn't grab one. Given the sneering repugnance of the home supporters I fear I may have exploded with happiness if we'd won.
Strange things, these pre-playoff bouts.
Ratings:
Camp - 7
Chambers - 6
Wilson - 7
Morgan - 7
Gunter - 7
Boyd - 6.5
Moussi - 8
Perch - 7
Cohen - 6.5
McGoldrick - 6
Adebola - 6
Now for drinks.
Having made the laborious and fairly wet journey alone I was feeling markedly uninspired in the build-up to kick-off.
Alas, within seconds of the game starting, I was alive with the spirit of rage.
The sodden pitch, the black skies, the slurring natives. Forest didn't fancy this. Three blinks after the first whistle we fell behind. Another blink later we ballooned possession into the stands from the re-start.
The travelling faithful were silent, glum. Billy was nesting in the back of his dugout. Guy Moussi was literally hopping with fury as aimless balls whisped gaily and relentlessly over his head.
It looked like a long afternoon, and for the first half an hour I saw no way into the game.
The hosts looked disturbingly but unequivocally stronger. That trip to Wembley seemed a long way off.
But Bristol City have been noted for their sluggishness all season. The urgency drained, the natives receeded, the legs wearied.
I'll stop a fair bit short of saying the difference in quality started to show, but Moussi's inexplicable and brilliant equaliser swung them game in Forest's favour.
Without ever fitting into the shadow cast by the great Forest side of late 2009 we took charge of proceedings.
In the second half we increasingly bossed possession and carved open the wings. Joe Garner, in a rare appearance as a - hold on to your seats - centre forward, could and should have won it from three yards out.
And of course the game couldn't finish without an invitation for a little more scarlet-faced fury.
The City goalkeeper fled his goal like a reeling whippet and lunged into a 50-50 tackle with Nathan Tyson.
He came off badly in a challenge that could just as easily have shattered Tyson's glass legs.
But the referee brandished a yellow card, awarded the hosts a free-kick, and spent the eight minutes of stoppage time awarding sympathy free-kicks to protect the centre forward dinosaur who deputised between the posts.
If I may be churlish for a moment - he bottled it.
In fear of the flammable home crowd he began to question his decision to 'only' book Tyson and couldn't face a late winner.
Although it's probably just as well we didn't grab one. Given the sneering repugnance of the home supporters I fear I may have exploded with happiness if we'd won.
Strange things, these pre-playoff bouts.
Ratings:
Camp - 7
Chambers - 6
Wilson - 7
Morgan - 7
Gunter - 7
Boyd - 6.5
Moussi - 8
Perch - 7
Cohen - 6.5
McGoldrick - 6
Adebola - 6
Now for drinks.
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