Barnsley1 v 1 Nottingham Forest
Sat 04 Apr 2009
A confident performance by Nottingham Forest gave them a share of the points at Barnsley, which saw them finish the day one point adrift of safety.
It was a competitive first half and Forest looked composed and produced some good football, although good defending by Barnsley prevented them from getting any clear cut chances. The home side rallied towards the end of the half but Forest looked strong in defence.
Barnsley took the lead in the opening minute of the second half, but a crucial penalty save by Iain Turner kept Forest in the game and they got back on level terms in the 67th minute. The Forest keeper went on to produce some excellent saves to keep them on level terms.
With Forest only able to play five of their seven loan signings, it was Paul Anderson and Gary McSheffrey who missed out, with latest signing Dexter Blackstock making his debut up front with Robert Earnshaw in a 4-4-2 formation.
In spite of the sell-out crowd at Barnsley it was the Forest supporters who could be heard the loudest as the game got under way.
Twice Forest got forward in the early stages and the Barnsley defence looked vulnerable at the back. Isaiah Osbourne made a good break down the wing and tried to find Robert Earnshaw with the early ball, but Darren Moore did well to intercept.
Nathan Tyson looked dangerous playing down the left and when he beat his man he fired in an early cross, but there were no takers.
Forest continued to pile the pressure on, having most of the possession in a pacy game with good end-to-end play.
A superb move by Forest 20 minutes into the came saw Osbourne put the ball at the feet of Blackstock. He crossed to Tyson whose pace got him clear of Bobby Hassell, allowing him to cross to Earnshaw whose flick at the near post was only just diverted over the crossbar.
Forest threatened again when Tyson crossed to Blackstock whose header forced Heinz Muller to go down to his left to make the save, but the referee's whistle had already gone for a push.
Forest were put under pressure for the first time ten minutes before the end of the first half and from a Barnsley corner Iain Turner struggled to palm the ball away.
But Forest made a break with a good surging run by Chris Cohen who produced a shot which Muller only saved at the second attempt.
Barnsley missed a chance just before half time from a good cross by Jamal Campbell-Ryce. The ball was headed back to Jonathan Macken who, under pressure from Cohen, turned and sent ball flying over the bar.
At the whistle players from both teams went over to the referee to protest about poor decisions which had been made for both teams.
After such a positive first half from Forest it was Barnsley who took the lead just 37 seconds into the second half after some poor defending by Forest. Wes Morgan tried to make the clearance but his header fell for Campbell-Ryce, who sent a looping header over Turner to find the top corner of the net.
Forest came close to an equalizer when Cohen got away from three men before passing to Blackstock. He held the ball up for Earnshaw who blasted a powerful shot off the underside of the bar. He then tried to put in the rebound but sent the ball over the crossbar.
Barnsley were then awarded a penalty when Chris Gunter gave the ball away and as Andranik went after it, he went down over Morgan's outstretched leg.
But Barnsley missed the chance to put the game further out of Forest's reach when Turner dived low to his left to save Campbell-Ryce's effort.
A long ball forward caught Barnsley out, Earnshaw took it brilliantly and controlled well, but his final touch was poor and the ball went over the bar.
As Forest continued to try and get back on level terms good delivery by Cohen caused problems for the Barnsley defence and Blackstock was unlucky to get blocked out.
They deserved the equalizer which came a minute later when Cohen turned the ball into the path of Osbourne, who made the run down the right. He put in a superb low ball to the near post where Earnshaw turned and hit low into the corner.
A superb ball in from Joel Lynch drifted over the Barnsley defence towards Earnshaw but he wasn't quite able to get on the end of it.
Barnsley threatened from a corner when the ball ran across the face of goal to Anderson De Silva who drove the ball into the ground; it rose towards the top of the net and Turner did well to tip it over for another corner.
A mistake by Morgan gave the home side another chance when the ball broke for Michael Mifsud who got away one on one with the Forest keeper, who was quick to get to the edge of his penalty area to smother the ball.
A great challenge by Osbourne prevented more danger for Forest as Barnsley fought to retake the lead.
With time running out, Forest almost created a chance courtesy of substitute Garath McCleary who put in a superb, low cross. Both Earnshaw and Blackstock were clearly upset not to have been able to turn into a chance on goal.
Tyson fashioned himself a superb opportunity two minutes from time when he beat two players to get to the edge of the box and shot low, but the ball went straight towards the Barnsley keeper for an easy save. Tyson went straight down injured and was replaced by Luke Chambers with four minutes stoppage time to play.
In the final minute Barnsley came close again when Hugo Colace's effort was tipped over the bar by Turner who had been instrumental in winning a point for Forest.
Nottingham Forest: Iain Turner, Chris Gunter, Kelvin Wilson, Wes Morgan(C), Joel Lynch, Chris Cohen, Isaiah Osbourne, Lewis McGugan(Garath McCleary 61min), Nathan Tyson(Luke Chambers, 90min), Robert Earnshaw, Dexter Blackstock
Subs not used: Paul Smith, Ian Breckin, Joe Garner
Bookings: Cohen 59min
Scorer: Earnshaw 68min
Barnsley: Heinz Muller, Bobby Hassell, Darren Moore, Stephen Foster, Robert Kozluk, Jamal Campbell-Ryce(Martin Devaney 88min), Hugo Colace, Anderson De Silva, Andranik Deymourian, Jonathan Macken, Michael Mifsud(Daniel Bogdanovic 82min)
Subs not used: Luke Steele(GK), Dennis Souza Guedes, Mounir el Haimour,
Bookings:Macken 23min, Colace 32min, Moore 45min. Campbell-Rice 47min
Scorer: Campbell-Rice 46min
Referee: Lee Probert
Attendance: 19,681 Away attn 3,761
Thu Dec 19, 2013 6:31 pm by Guest
