NOTTINGHAM FOREST 0 CITY 2
FA Premier League
27th February 1993
attendance 25,956
Scorers White(19), Flitcroft(87)
Ref A Buksh
City Coton, Ranson, Phelan, Simpson, Hill, Vonk, White, Sheron, Quinn, Flitcroft, Holden – sub Quigley(89), Mike(unused), Dibble(unused)
Forest Crossley, Charles, Chettle, Stone, Tiler, Keane, Crosby, Black, Clough, Glover, Woan – sub Laws(22), Marriott(unused), Armstrong(unused)
DAVID WHITE AND GARY FLITCROFT GOALS CLINCH THE POINTS FOR CITY
FROM THE PRESS BOX
FRANK MCGHEE WRITING IN THE OBSERVER 28TH FEBRUARY 1993
Watching Forest struggle to get out of the relegation zone and stay out is a bit like a re-run of Laurel and Hardy pushing a piano up a flight of steps. The baby grand keeps sliding back and running over their toes.
It started to slip yesterday when they had to go in against City without Pearce in defence, Webb and Gemmill in midfield, and Bannister in attack.
Forest were forced by circumstances to pull their outstanding individual player, keane back into deep defence. He came in very handy once, early on stopping City striker White.
Still, no one was anywhere near White when Simpson robbed Forest defender Tiler in the 20th minute and put him through for the first goal, a stinging right foot drive.
City, without a key player of their own, central defender Curle, were not exactly in a patch of glowing form themselves having lost their last two games. But they were considerably the Superior side throughout the first half and could have had two more goals with any luck. Quinn hit keeper Crossley’s legs with one shot, and from a corner in the 32nd minute a Hill header was blocked on the line by Charles.
Forest’s only scoring chances were rare, though twice Clough failed to make contact with crosses, one from full-back Charles and one from winger Woan. Had he done so, scoring would have been a near certainty, because City goalkeeper Coton was out of position each time.
The bleak suspicion persists that Forest are far too lightweight up front and need an intimidator or at least a big target man.
They also seem tactically naive. It did not occur to them, for instance, that with a full-back, the substitute Laws, in midfield and a central defender, Chettle, at fullback, they could usefully have reshuffled and pushed Keane forward. But then Brian Clough throughout his managerial career, has seldom done what anyone expected him to do, and the formation which failed him in the first half continued to do so.
In front of their biggest attendance of the season, Forest did display considerably more aggression in the second half. But no one harnessed it too much purpose, as Keane might have done.
They had a couple of near misses by Woan, as City concentrated on a containing game.
They should have paid for that pusillanimous policy, and would have done against a half decent strike force. As it was, Forest, pushing forward inevitably left gaps behind, and one of these was exploited late on when Flitcroft scored another for City after a cross from White.