Left Brian: Forest Men & Women October update

Forest Men

October has been a month of tantalising glimpses, punctuated by the sort of results that remind you why supporting Nottingham Forest is not generally good for your mental health. 

It started brilliantly at Villa Park. After a fairly even first half, Forest emerged for the second period looking like a team that had finally understood what its manager was asking for. Murillo won the ball high up the pitch, Liam Delap took possession and absolutely leathered it into the bottom corner. His first goal for the club, and a very satisfying way to announce himself.

The Reds continued to batter the Villa goal. Delap had another effort ruled out for offside, and Dan Ndoye and Daniel Muñoz caused problems throughout. When Villa substitute Alysson headed home to equalise with just over fifteen minutes left, it would have been understandable for Forest to retreat into their shells. Instead, they went back on the attack. Xaver Schlager and Muñoz both tested the goalkeeper before the latter delivered the cross that Igor Jesus, after a beautiful flick from Gibbs-White, guided home to restore the lead.

Three points. A first Premier League win of the season. A first victory under Glasner. And our first win away at Villa Park since 1994.

Why can’t football always be like this? 

Naturally, the next match at home to Coventry brought us back down to earth.

Forest peppered the Sky Blues' goal, enjoyed more possession and created the better chances, but Jay Dasilva's second-half strike proved decisive. Igor Jesus looked to have rescued something late on with a clever chipped finish, only for a Coventry defender to perform an acrobatic clearance and keep the ball out. Then, in the dying minutes, Forest did find the net, only for VAR to intervene (and not for the first time this season - somebody at Stockley Park has a Forest voodoo doll in their office). 

But this was a game the Reds should have got something from. The performance was there; the result wasn't.

The trip to Crystal Palace offered an opportunity to put things right, particularly given Glasner's previous connections with the Eagles. Forest started as though they intended to make a point. Ndoye pounced on a defensive mix-up to put the Reds ahead, before the visitors set about creating a succession of chances. Gibbs-White struck the crossbar, Delap was denied from close range and Muñoz somehow managed to put a well-timed run and excellent delivery from Neco Williams to waste by shooting wide.

You could hardly accuse Forest of failing to turn up.

But we were punished for not taking our chances. Palace equalised through Daichi Kamada with five minutes of the first half remaining, then Jefferson Lerma headed them in front just before the break. Suddenly, a match Forest had largely controlled had become a mountain to climb.

Yéremy Pino extended Palace's lead after the break, and although Forest continued to push, the damage had been done. Gibbs-White hit the post, Chris Wood was denied by Walter Benítez, and the Reds' unbeaten away record disappeared into the south London evening.

There was a cruel irony in that Forest had begun to look far more convincing away from home, where the atmosphere is less burdened by the expectations and anxieties that have increasingly characterised the City Ground. We played some excellent football and still managed to lose by two goals. If September was about establishing a coherent style, October was beginning to show that coherence isn't enough. You need composure, too.

The visit of Arsenal offered little respite. The Premier League champions arrived at the City Ground, and Forest produced another performance that was better than the scoreline suggested. Dan Ndoye forced David Raya into an early save, while the back three did a decent job of keeping Arsenal’s attacking talent at arm's length. At the other end, though, the Reds struggled to turn promising positions into goals. The game remained goalless until Noni Madueke, introduced from the bench, drove a superb strike into the top-right corner with ten minutes remaining.

Another narrow defeat. Another afternoon spent wondering how a team can look so good and yet come away with nothing.

There was, however, something worth remembering amid the frustration. Arsenal had struggled to score at the City Ground on their previous two visits, and Forest were arguably the more threatening side for long stretches. We are not being routinely dismantled. We are not looking like a team without a plan. The margins are small but pretty unforgiving.

And so to Ipswich, where the Reds finally managed to find the net early on, Neco Williams firing home after a bright start. Forest created further chances, but Julio Enciso levelled with a fine strike from distance just before half-time. The second period was a familiar story: a succession of opportunities, from Murillo's powerful effort to Delap's attempts and a late header from Nikola Milenković, without the decisive finish. Callum Hudson-Odoi came close in stoppage time, but the equaliser never arrived.

A draw, and a point to show for the effort. But Forest had left two more on the table.

So where does that leave us? The Villa win showed what this team can be when Glasner’s ideas click. The defeats have shown how quickly that promise can be undermined by missed chances, defensive lapses and intervention from the fussy VAR. 

There’s a difference between improving and winning, and Forest are currently doing a much better job on the former than the latter.

So the next stage of the Glasner project is clear: turning performances into points. The foundations are there and the football is good, I just hope the fans and the owner can show patience. For now, personally I'm prepared to have a bit of faith.

Forest Women

The challenge of turning performances into points isn’t alien to the Women’s team, either. But If there’s one word that encapsulates Forest Women's season so far, it’s progress.

Six league games into Tom Mallinson's first full campaign, Forest remain unbeaten in the league, have shown they can compete with the division's best sides, and are beginning to develop a clear identity on the pitch. There’s just that lingering sense that the Reds should have even more points on the board than they currently do.

A sickening last minute equaliser for Ipswich in the season opener was a case in point. Against Watford, Forest dominated possession, territory and chances but somehow found themselves 2-0 down through Watford's only meaningful attacks. Alana Murphy and Chaney Boye-Hlorkah rescued a 2-2 draw, but it felt like two points dropped rather than one gained. That theme continued as Forest drew another competitive contest away at Southampton, where a late Boye-Hlorkah equaliser secured a deserved point.

In between came the first victory of the campaign away at Durham, where they showed a different side to their character. Rather than winning through dominance and flowing football, they ground out a hard-fought 2-1 victory through goals from Boye-Hlorkah and Georgia Brougham. It wasn’t glamorous, but promotion-chasing teams need days like that.

While league progress has been steady, cup competitions have largely been used to develop squad depth. A narrow 2-0 defeat to WSL opposition Aston Villa demonstrated that Forest are capable of competing with teams from the higher division, while the Players Cup trip to Sheffield United allowed several squad players valuable minutes despite ending in a penalty shootout defeat.

The biggest turning point of the season arguably arrived after the international break.

Forest shone in a comprehensive 2-0 victory over Burnley. Letitia McKenna announced herself to the fanbase with an outstanding full debut, Cerys Brown continued her excellent campaign down the right flank, and Tuva Espas silenced critics with a well-taken brace. It was a complete performance and provided the clearest glimpse yet of what Mallinson's side can become.

That positivity reached another level against league leaders Newcastle United.

With Newcastle arriving having won every league match, Forest were supposedly facing the ultimate test. For 45 minutes, they delivered their best football of the season. McKenna scored twice inside fourteen minutes to establish a deserved 2-0 advantage and Forest completely outplayed the title favourites. Although Newcastle recovered to secure a 2-2 draw, the performance felt significant. 

Several individual stories have emerged: Boye-Hlorkah has regularly produced moments of quality when games are in the balance. Brown established herself as one of the division's standout performers before injury intervened. Alana Murphy has quietly become the team's heartbeat in midfield, earning glowing praise from Mallinson, while McKenna's arrival has added a level of creativity that could prove decisive across a promotion challenge.

Perhaps the most unexpected storyline has been in goal. After replacing Emily Batty, young Chelsea loanee Katie Cox has impressed with her command of the penalty area and ability in possession, giving Forest a new dimension in build-up play.

And there’s now a recognisable Nottingham Forest style emerging. Mallinson wants his side to dominate possession, play brave football, overload wide areas and attack with speed and purpose. At times this season those principles have produced stunning football. The challenge now is turning impressive performances into more points.

And if you’ve never seen a Forest Women’s match at the City Ground before I honestly think now’s as good a time as ever to give it a go. If they carry on like this, promotion to the big time will become a distinct possibility.

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