Head coach Nuno Espirito Santo chewed his lip as he watched Nottingham Forest’s collapse from the touchline.
By the end, though, it was a case of fingernails being bitten among the Newcastle United contingent. This was the cliched game of two halves and could easily have finished with the spoils shared.
The good news is the Reds showed character and spirit to fight back from 4-1 down. They almost got a result at St James’ Park. They also remain in control of their own destiny, still in third place in the table.The concern is that Forest were 4-1 down in the first place and didn’t look anywhere near at it before the break. Added to that they have now fallen to three straight defeats on the road in the Premier League – the first time that has happened since December 2023.There are positives for the Reds to hold on to after their latest reverse but they also have issues to address. NottinghamshireLive looks at some of the big talking points from Sunday’s 4-3 loss in the north east.
First-half horror show
For a large part of this season, Forest’s defence has been their major strength. Now all of a sudden, clean-sheets have been harder to come by and goals have been shipped in numbers.
The 11-minute spell when the visitors went from being 1-0 up courtesy of Callum Hudson-Odoi’s strike to being 4-1 down cost them the game. True, they came close to getting a draw but the reality is they had left themselves far too much to do.”Forest just have to be careful that they don’t embarrass themselves here,” Reds great Roy Keane told Sky Sports (via the BBC) during the first half. Nuno admitted he didn’t recognise his team during that period and was at a loss to explain what had happened.
“I wish I could answer that question and be fair. But I’m honest, I really don’t know. And what I know is not to share with you,” he said.
Set-pieces caused the visitors problems. Too many players were below-par, with barely two passes strung together. The defence came under far too much pressure. And it all told in the end in a madcap – and damaging – few minutes.
Getting back to what they have been good at is the key for Forest. Get back to being that solid, resolute side who are tough to break down.
Show of character
In his pre-match press conference on Friday lunchtime, Nuno had called for his team to be “stronger” as the campaign reaches a decisive moment. Unlikely he had conceding four goals in 11 minutes when he said that, but the reaction after half-time in the north east was more like it.
The Reds were much, much better in the second period. They dug in, they battled, they created openings and they gave themselves a fighting chance when Nikola Milenkovic and then Ryan Yates scored.
Others had opportunities before Yates found the back of the net with 90 minutes on the clock. That the second half yielded only three minutes of added time was odd. Seven had been played in the first half and there had been substitutions made by both sides.
Had even just a few more minutes been played, you would have banked on Forest scoring again. Newcastle were rocking, so much so that Eddie Howe said he felt like his team “had lost” by the final whistle.If Nuno’s men are going to hold on in the fight for Champions League football, they need more of that. They have not been at their best lately but they have got to retain belief that improvement will come.Travel sickness
Away trips used to be approached with a sense of dread during the Reds’ first term back in the Premier League. Nuno came in and turned that around.
In the first half of the campaign Forest went to the likes of Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United and claimed some huge results. Fast forward a few months and they have now lost three league games on the bounce on the road.
“They have been totally different games. We always try to be equal, at home at the City Ground and away. But it has not been like that,” Nuno said afterwards.
“We have been consistent at home but our away form has dropped. But we still have time and space to put that right, and that is what we are going to do.”
The next time the Portuguese’s side will be on their travels, it will be to face relegation-threatened Ipswich Town. Get through some testing home matches first and then that one at Portman Road could be just what Forest need to get back a bit of belief away from home.
The battle for Europe
This always had the makings of being an important run for Nuno’s men – taking on teams they lost to in the first half of the season. Fulham and Newcastle have now done the double over them; the goal has to be to prevent Arsenal and Manchester City from doing the same in the next two league games.
The Reds have been beaten in three of their last four league outings. That is as many as their previous 16, when they picked up 11 wins and two draws during a barnstorming run.
It was perhaps almost inevitable they would suffer a wobble at some point this term. The key will be how long it lasts and how much teams below them close the gap.After the clashes with the Gunners and City, the schedule is a little kinder – although Nuno would be the first to stress there are no easy games in the Premier League. But if Forest can find some momentum again, there is an opportunity to put a run together in the final weeks.
The Reds have spent so long in the upper echelons of the table, nervousness about the prospect of that slipping away is understandable. Nuno has been at pains to point out almost every week that it is not easy to sustain such a level. Forest still have a bit of a buffer with 12 games to go; they are three points ahead of City in fourth and Newcastle in fifth, and are four above sixth-placed Bournemouth.
The Reds are more than capable of getting back on track. But they do need to remember what they have been good at as they prepare for a big few weeks ahead.
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