Stalemate at the City Ground

Omar Marmoush was a whisker away from his first Spurs goal in the opening stages at the City Ground with Antonin Kinsky denying Morgan Gibbs-White later in the first half, while Forest had the ball in the net mid-way through the second but Neco Williams saw his bundled effort ruled out for handball after a VAR review.

In truth, neither side did enough to warrant victory on a sunny afternoon in the East Midlands, and while the point was hard-earned, it still leaves us in search of our first league goal of the new campaign.

With three changes made to the team that started last weekend’s home defeat to Newcastle, we forced a number of early corners but it was from Forest’s first at the other end that the first effort of the game materialised after 12 minutes, Murillo hooking a shot over the bar. Our best chance of the game arrived five minutes later as a superb forward ball from Pedro Porro deep on the right flank sent Marmoush through on goal, but with Forest backtracking rapidly he fired just wide of the far post under pressure.

Rodrigo Bentancur worked tirelessly throughout the game, often popping up with key defensive headers in our box, but he went close with an attacking one mid-way through the first half when he connected with Pedro Porro’s free-kick, only to see his effort loop over the bar. Jair Cunha fizzed an angled shot over from distance for Forest before their best opportunity of the first period arrived two minutes prior to the break when Liam Delap released Gibbs-White in behind our defence, but the advancing Kinsky superbly blocked one-on-one with his legs.

Marmoush saw a free-kick blocked by the wall while skipper Micky van de Ven powered a near-post header from a corner just the wrong side of the upright as we had a spell of pressure in the opening exchanges of the second period, before the game’s biggest talking point came on 66 minutes as Forest thought they’d taken the lead, only for VAR to intervene. Gibbs-White had got away down the right, Kinsky partially blocked his drive as he advanced towards the Forest captain and with Sandro Tonali and Jan Paul van Hecke unable to clear the ball as it bounced towards the empty net, Williams hurled himself at it to force it over the line – the VAR, however, spotted that he’d handled the ball and it remained 0-0.

Marmoush later fired high over the top after a superb early diagonal pass from Kinsky while Mykhailo Mudryk was introduced for his debut in the latter stages as we sought a breakthrough, but the closest we went was when fellow substitute Dominic Solanke sent a looping header onto the roof of the net five minutes from time. It ended up as something of a frustrating day, but the point was still a welcome one at a ground which we’ve struggled to take anything away from in recent times.

Line-ups

Nottingham Forest (3-4-3): Sels, Jair Cunha, Milenkovic, Murillo (Diomande 90), Aina (Munoz 59), Schlager, McAtee, Williams, Gibbs-White (c), Delap (Wood 74), Ndoye (Igor Jesus 59). Substitutes (not used): Victor, Hudson-Odoi, Dominguez, Yates, Netz.

Spurs (4-2-3-1): Kinsky, Pedro Porro, van Hecke, van de Ven (c), Udogie (Robertson 61), Tonali, Bentancur, Savio (Kudus 61), Gallagher (M Fernandes 83), Tel (Mudryk 74), Marmoush (Solanke 83). Substitutes (not used): Dubravka, Senesi, Gray, Bergvall.

Match data

Yellow cards: Nottingham Forest – Milenkovic 52, McAtee 78; Spurs – Udogie 45+1, Mateus Fernandes 84.

Referee: Craig Pawson.

Venue: The City Ground, Nottingham.

Weather: Sunny spells, light cloud, gentle breeze, 19 degrees.

Attendance: 30,686.