In a week in which he had already been hit with an £8,000 fine, Nottingham Forest boss Steve Cooper chose his words carefully.
From the City Ground crowd, and indeed from goalscorer Morgan Gibbs-White, however, there was no such diplomacy. Feelings (for that read downright frustrations, to put it politely) were made perfectly clear.
Gibbs-White argued the Reds were “cheated out of three points”. The fans had booed and jeered referee Andre Marriner and his officials - and if VAR Lee Mason had been in the vicinity, he would definitely have copped a load of that, too.
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Where to even start? From a pre-match incident involving Brentford’s goalkeeping coach and a member of Forest’s groundstaff, to penalties given and not given, to a late fightback and one final VAR check just for good measure, this game was full of drama and controversy.
Dubious decisions
At 0-0, Emmanuel Dennis argued he was clipped by Mathias Jensen. At 1-0, Ryan Yates was shoved in the back by Josh Dasilva. The second was looked at by VAR, neither were given.
If Forest were already feeling they weren’t getting the rub of the green, Marriner and Mason then rubbed salt in the wound before the break. And that really stuck in the craw.
Dean Henderson came out to try to close the angle on the on-rushing Yoane Wissa after he had broken through. The Reds goalkeeper was penalised for the light brush of his glove on the Bees man’s shin, even though he had already got a hand to the ball.
“He did touch it. The referee knew he did as well, because I’ve spoken to him,” Cooper said afterwards.
“If anything, it’s a decent save. He has got a touch on it, which the referee knew he had.
“I’ve been to see the referee - very politely, and we had a respectful conversation - and he said he knew he’d touched the ball. That’s that.
“I’ve said what I think about the decisions. The statement from me is, if there is one penalty to be given, there has to be four.”
The Welshman had a point. The contact on Dennis and Yates was about at the level of Henderson on Wissa. Likewise, when Gibbs-White appealed for a trip at 1-1 in the second half.
Marriner’s decision to point to the spot against Henderson came after he had gone to his monitor following a lengthy VAR stoppage. The Manchester United loanee was livid, both before and after Bryan Mbeumo had slotted home.
And just as Henderson had, Gibbs-White - who had turned away, unable to watch the penalty go in - furiously pounded the ground when his penalty shout was waved away. Cooper deserves immense credit for the way in which he delivered his opinions afterwards; privately, he would no doubt have been fuming. With justification, too.
Morgan’s magic
Forest had been excellent in the first half. They were well on top and looked a threat going forward, with the slightly tweaked system of Dennis, Brennan Johnson and Gibbs-White working well.
All three made valuable contributions, but the latter, in particular, was superb. The vast majority of the hosts’ positive play went through him. Cooper had tasked him with exploiting the space Brentford gave up, and he did that brilliantly.
His goal was a real peach. Teed up via a neat touch from Dennis, Gibbs-White showed wonderful skill to dance his way toward the edge of the area before unleashing a shot which took a deflection on its way past David Raya.
It was a fine way to mark his best performance since his big-money summer move. And now he’s had the confidence boost which comes with opening his account, the hope will be there is plenty more to come.
Fighting spirit
Slow starts to second halves are something the Reds need to quickly eliminate. They were not helped by the decisions which had affected their flow, but they found themselves on the back foot after the break.
Where Forest had generally looked sharp and lively for much of the first period, some sloppy play began to creep in. And they struggled to create the same number of chances at the other end of the pitch.
But while Henderson’s goal had hardly been peppered, the second goal was a poor one to concede, with the hosts caught out by a ball over the top. Cheap goals are proving costly.
Given everything that had unfolded, it had the makings of being one of those days. That it didn’t turn out that way should give Cooper and his players encouragement for the battle ahead.
They didn’t give up. They piled forward in the dying minutes and managed to get something for their efforts; the equaliser coming in the sixth minute of added time after a scramble in the penalty area. A draw was the least they deserved - even then, they had to wait for another VAR check over a potential offside.
It doesn’t change much in the table, and it can still be seen as two points dropped, but that steely determination is what Forest are going to need in spades for the rest of this season. That was the first time this term they have come from behind to get something from a match. That collective experience is one to draw upon.
And if any further evidence were needed of the unity in the camp, it came before a ball had been kicked. Following news Giulian Biancone is out for the rest of the campaign with an ACL injury, the players warmed up in t-shirts with ‘Biancone 2’ and #together on the back, as a show of support to their teammate.
Pre-match incident
Perhaps the tone for an afternoon of drama had also been set before the game started. There was an incident involving Brentford’s goalkeeping coach and a member of the Reds’ groundstaff.
Bees manager Thomas Frank alleged his staff member, Manu Sotelo, was left with a mark on him after an argument, and he accused Forest of disrupting the visitors’ pre-match warm-up.
NottinghamshireLive understands the Reds believe it is clear from their initial investigation and video footage that the groundsman is not at fault. They deem the wrong-doing to be on the part of Brentford, with the suggestion the Bees were at fault for breaching Premier League rules about how long teams can use the penalty area for during the warm-up. The Football Association is aware of the incident and awaits Marriner’s official report, with the referee intervening at the time.
From beginning to end, this was an afternoon with no end of talking points. Still, somehow, the main one ended up being refereeing decisions and VAR (again).
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