Sheffield United defender Jack Robinson believes Nottingham Forest celebrated 'too early' for what the player described as "embarrassing" scenes after Brennan Johnson scored what proved to be the winner at Bramall Lane last week.
After Jack Colback had given the Reds a lead inside the opening ten minutes, Johnson was on target an hour later to double their first leg lead in South Yorkshire. That Forest goal cued red flares being set off in the away end and chants about being Wembley-bound by travelling supporters in attendance.
Sander Berge, though, halved the deficit in the first minute of added time, meaning the tie is still finely poised ahead of tonight's return leg at the City Ground. Coming into that one, the Blades clearly have added motivation after being irked by the perceived slight of those celebrations.
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“You look at their celebrations after the second goal and they thought they had won the leg (tie) there and then," Robinson said at a press conference on Monday (via the Yorkshire Post ). "It was embarrassing, to be honest.
“It was the first leg and 70 minutes when the second goal went in. That is a long time to go in a two-leg game, you should never celebrate too early.
“There’s still another 90 minutes to go and we are going to fight for it and give it everything, 100 per cent.
“Our fans will get behind us and we will put them under pressure at their own ground.
“The pressure is on them. We have got nothing to lose now and we will go in there fully focused.
Robinson continued, alluding to the year and a half spent Trentside before joining the Blades in 2020. “Even when I was there, there was a lot of pressure to go up. They did not do it and missed out last year. There will be massive pressure for them, more than us.
“I have played at the City Ground and was obviously there before Sheffield United. I know the crowd can get on you if you are performing badly and are not at the races. But we can only focus on ourselves as it is about our performance.”