Former Premier League goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel has said that the split in the Nottingham Forest rule for Ivan Toney’s free kick was ‘criminal’ as he defended Keylor Navas.
Toney’s strike went through the four-man wall, before Navas could only save the ball onto the post for it to bounce off him and into the goal to draw Brentford level in the 82nd minute. It was a goal that proved to be crucial.
Things got worse for Forest in added time when Josh Dasilva cut inside and found a way past Naves via a deflection to condemn the Reds to late heartbreak. The loss means that Forest are now back in the relegation zone but only on goal difference.
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There has been some suggestion from pundits that Navas should have done better with the free-kick, but Schmeichel has jumped to the defence of his fellow goalkeeper, pointing out the role of the wall had in the goal.
“First and foremost, the wall - it’s criminal what happens in the wall. The whole point of having the wall is the trust between you and the goalkeeper,” he said on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football.
“He’s covering his side, the wall has to cover their side. So, as soon as it goes through the wall it’s practically impossible.
“He gets so, so close and you’re talking centimetres that will make the difference. It’s one of those that Jamie (Carragher) will probably be blaming goalkeepers for, but that just simply can’t happen.
“He’s so close to getting there and he’s just unlucky, it’s unlucky from the goalkeeper’s perspective.”
The former Leicester City man also pointed out how the presence of Brentford players near the wall made it more difficult for the Costa Rican, due to him seeing the ball late and not having much time to react.
He added: “It’s the last thing he’s expecting, so you’ve also got to look here, Brentford set up quite cleverly, they put two men in the centre of the wall so you can’t see the ball at any point now.”
“He has a very, very short time to react. It’s one of them, you’re talking literally a centimetre because you’re having to try and dig it out because it’s almost behind him, one or two more centimetres it hits the post and comes out again.
“Then you never know with the players running in but I think it’s very, very unlucky."
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