Goalkeeper Brice Samba has been tipped to rise to the occasion again for Nottingham Forest when they head to Wembley.
The Reds do battle with Huddersfield Town on Sunday in an all-or-nothing showdown, with promotion on the line. And they have Samba to thank for getting them there, after his heroics against Sheffield United in last week’s semi-final second leg.
The 28-year-old produced two outstanding saves to deny Iliman Ndiaye at the City Ground, then thwarted three penalties in the shootout to secure victory. Ex-Forest stopper Mark Crossley says Samba has the potential to repeat his big-game form for Steve Cooper’s side this weekend.
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“I love him! He’s great, “ Crossley told NottinghamshireLive. “I don’t like it when he loses his head a little bit. But that’s him, that’s what he does. He served his punishment when he was left out of the team for a bit (after being sent off against Stoke City). He’s come back and shown what he’s all about.
“I absolutely love him to bits. I love how laid-back he is. But most important of all, he’s a good goalkeeper. His distribution is second to none, which you need on a big pitch like Wembley.
“They say goalkeepers have got to be a little bit daft! He comes into that, and I definitely come into it as well! We’re all different. Some are calm, some are eccentric. What I like about Brice is that he’s got a little bit of both.
“I was certainly like that. I think that’s why I’ve taken to him so much as a Forest keeper. I love him to bits as a keeper and as a character. I wouldn’t want him to change.”
Samba had notes about the Blades’ penalty takers stuck on his water bottle. Well-known for his winding-up tactics, he also kept Oliver Norwood waiting before the first spot-kick could be taken.
“I only saw about the water bottle after the game,” said Crossley, who was part of Forest’s last top-flight side. “At the time, I kept wondering why he kept going for a drink! Credit has to go out to him and his goalkeeping coach for it. It was an absolutely brilliant tactic, which worked. Sometimes they don’t work, but it’s nice when they actually pay off.
“My tactic was to delay the striker for as long as possible before he took the penalty - whether it meant a chat with the referee or having a drink out of my bottle. There’s no pressure on the keeper. There’s more pressure on the player taking the penalty, and what they want to do is get the ball down on the spot, take it right away. The longer you can delay him, the more time he has to think about it.
“It’s advantage goalkeeper in those situations. As a goalkeeper, you don’t have a lot to lose, but the tactic was brilliant. Forest have got so many big-game players. You’ve got the goalkeeper, the defence looks solid as a rock, there’s young players in midfield, you’ve got Jack Colback who balances play well, you’ve got Djed Spence, who loves to get forward, and Brennan Johnson.”
