It seemed, for the briefest of moments, that it was finally going to happen for Vítor Pereira and Nottingham Forest. Dan Ndoye, the half-time substitute, had burst into the area after the hour-mark and sidefooted perfectly, prompting the explosion of relief at the City Ground.
However, joy at taking the lead against Fulham was ended by the video assistant referee, extra painful for a side that have struggled so much with the final touch all season. Pereira’s excruciating run continues, still waiting for his first Premier League victory this campaign. He has only four points from his 14 matches in charge of Wolves and Forest.
For now, the relegation battlers will have to look on the bright side. A draw took them out of the bottom three, but only goal difference is keeping them above West Ham, who they beat in January to create a seven-point gap. They cannotjust rely on a Tottenham meltdown … right?
Both sides entered in a downbeat mood. Forest went down 1-0 against Midtjylland in the Europa League on Thursday night; Fulham spurned the opportunity of reaching an FA Cup quarter-final with their defeat by the Championship side Southampton last Sunday. Marco Silva’s team find themselves in a familiar place: milling around mid-table, falling just short of a serious cup adventure, still waiting for a return to Europe.
Silva had Harry Wilson, his leading goalscorer this season, available again after two games out with an ankle injury. Pereira made a tweak to the team that held Manchester City to a 2-2 draw at the Etihad, welcoming back Callum Hudson-Odoi on the right wing to take on Antonee Robinson.
The first half was largely sedate – Forest looking nervy, maybe still carrying a Europa hangover – Fulham comfortable without venturing into the final third. Elliot Anderson was the one man providing urgency in red, even if his execution was missing: moments after sending a corner straight out of bounds, the England midfielder burst through the lines by latching on to an Igor Jesus knockdown. He cut across Calvin Bassey inside the area but what should have been a left-foot curler was dragged comfortably wide of Bernd Leno’s goal. Bassey came closest for Fulham, a close-range header testing Matz Sels’s reflexes.
As ever with Forest this campaign, the finish was missing, with 22 unsuccessful shots launched against Midtjylland in the week. Wolves are the only side to have scored fewer goals in the league. It wasn’t there again when Forest put together their best move of the first 45. Morgan Gibbs-White’s backheel on the left found the onrushing Neco Williams, whose cutback met Nicolás Domínguez at the edge of the area. Trying to precisely find the bottom left corner, the Argentinian needed more power to beat Leno.
Pereira, meanwhile, watched without a poker face, leaping in frustration when Jesus failed to control an Anderson pass before the half-hour mark. No wonder that Forest re-emerged after the break with a different template. Gibbs-White moved central and was accompanied by two new widemen, Omari Hutchinson and Ndoye brought on to stretch the seams. “For me, Morgan is not a winger,” said Pereira. “He is a player to play inside the lines, to play between the lines. At half-time I realise I don’t want him to play as a winger because I prefer to bring him in to decide the game.”
Ndoye was immediately effective, running in behind to seize upon a ball over the top by Murillo. Bassey bundled him over, Sam Barrott pointed to the spot, but the linesman’s raised flag was up quickly to save the visitors. Ola Aina nearly stunned before the hour-mark, the right-back walloping with his left foot from the edge of the area to smash the crossbar.
The celebrations arrived when Ndoye ran in behind, collecting from Williams, knocking it past Leno. Here, finally, was the clinical edge. Out came VAR to spot the barest of offsides, the left heel beyond the line. Fulham very nearly made things worse seconds later when Rodrigo Muniz chested and smashed a volley. Aina was the saviour, his headed block denying a goal.
Taiwo Awoniyi, replacing Jesus, came closest late on – “Taiwo created a lot of problems, a lot of problems,” said Pereira – but there was a surprise when Gibbs-White was replaced in the 74th minute. “You better not be saving him for Thursday,” screamed a supporter, followed by a few more expletives.
Silva was pleased with the clean sheet, Pereira had to cling to his side’s efforts. “What I retain in my mind about this game,” said the Forest head coach, “was the spirit of the team. They try everything to win the game. This is the spirit to keep till the end of the season.” But goals are desperately needed. “They are trying, they are trying.”
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