Nottingham Forest had to settle for a point as they drew 1-1 with Hull City in their final game of the regular season.
Brennan Johnson’s late penalty was almost immediately cancelled out by Lewis Coyle. And it means the Reds finish fourth in the table, with Sheffield United their opponents in the play-offs.
The visitors saw plenty of the ball in the first half and created a few decent openings. But they never really tested City goalkeeper Nathan Baxter as the teams went in at the break goalless.
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Tobias Figueiredo came to Joe Worrall’s rescue early on as Allahyar looked to capitalise on a stray pass from the Reds defender. The Portuguese got across quickly, though, making a sliding tackle to stop the City man getting a shot away.
Allahyar was almost in again, just before the half-hour. A mix-up between Brice Samba and Figueiredo let him in, but the ball rolled out of play before he could make the most of the opportunity.
Joe Lolley tried his luck for Forest soon after, letting fly from range but firing narrowly wide. And Philip Zinckernagel found his path to goal thwarted as half-time approached, with Jacob Greaves weighing in with a firm tackle before the Dane could pass to Xande Silva.
Alex Mighten had looked lively. The youngster had an effort from inside the box blocked just before the whistle, after latching on to Lolley’s cut-back.
Silva spurned a golden opportunity for the breakthrough soon after the restart. Good build-up play saw Zinckernagel drive in a low cross, but the Forest attacker poked wide at the near post.
Eager to secure a third-placed finish, and with the performance lacking a spark, Cooper made a double change with 25 minutes to go. Brennan Johnson and Sam Surridge entering the fray, with the former soon firing wide from inside the area and his teammate being denied by Baxter a few minutes later.
Keane Lewis-Potter had the chance to win it for the hosts late on, when clean through, but blasted over. That honour should have gone to Johnson, who buried a penalty after Surridge had been tripped in the area. However, Hull immediately hit back through Lewie Coyle, to leave it honours even. Here’s how Reds reporter Sarah Clapson rated the Forest players at the MKM Stadium.
Brice Samba: Wasn’t tested a great deal, but won’t be happy with conceding a goal like that late on. Some good distribution, including a peach of a pass to Johnson. Rating: 7/10
Joe Worrall: A few uncharacteristic slips in the first half, which required a bit of help from his teammates to dig him out of trouble. Better in the second half. Rating: 6/10
Tobias Figueiredo: Made some important challenges, including a heck of a tackle early on to thwart Allahyar. Only blot on the copybook was a mix-up with Samba which let the City man in later on. Rating: 7/10
Jonathan Panzo: The January signing has had to wait for his debut. But he certainly grasped the opportunity. Bright, comfortable on the ball, and overall a very encouraging first appearance. Rating: 7.5/10
Richie Laryea: First start for the Canada international. Pace was a useful asset and he made some threatening runs. A decent enough showing. Rating: 6.5/10
James Garner: Neat and tidy on the ball. Game lacked intensity for long periods, though. Forest were badly missing a spark at times. Rating: 6/10
Cafu: A typically bustling display. Some good moments on the ball. But the less said about a second half shot which went out for a throw-in, the better! Rating: 6.5/10
Joe Lolley: Bit of a different role, being deployed as a left wing-back. Then switched to an orthodox left-back when the Reds went to a four-man defence. Got forward well. Rating: 7/10
Philip Zinckernagel: Bit of a mixed bag. Involved in plenty of positive play and helped forge some of the Reds’ best openings. But equally, guilty of making the wrong decisions at times. Rating: 6/10
Xande Silva: Spurned a gilt-edged chance to net his first Forest goal early in the second half. A head-scratcher how he didn’t convert that. Rating: 6/10
Alex Mighten: Lively performance. Was a threat in the first half, particularly, going close with an effort from inside the box which was blocked. Rating: 6/10
Subs
Brennan Johnson (for Panzo, 65mins): Excellent penalty - should have been the winner. Rating: 7/10
Sam Surridge (for Silva, 65mins): Added a spark when he came on, winning the spot-kick. Rating: 7/10
Djed Spence (for Laryea, 77mins): Great recovery tackle to prevent Hull breaking late on. Forest looked better with the three changes. Rating: 7/10
Subs not used: Horvath, Mbe Soh, Ojeda, McKenna.
