Nottingham Forest extended their unbeaten run in the Premier League to four games thanks to a late equaliser from striker Sam Surridge against Bournemouth.
Forest went into the game at the Vitality Stadium full of confidence after a 2-0 victory over Leicester City in their last outing in the Premier League. That win had moved the Reds away from the Premier League relegation zone.
The Cherries however were on a run of four straight defeats in the league, having lost every game since the return of domestic football after the World Cup break. It left the side looking over their shoulder at the bottom three positions.
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Bournemouth however took the lead in the game through Jaidon Anthony in the first half, after Ryan Yates had a goal ruled out for offside. It took Forest until the 83rd minute to reply, with former Bournemouth man Surridge poking in at the far post to give the side a vital point.
The game was followed by members of the national media, here is what they had to say about the game.
The Times , Hamzah Khalique-Loonat
Sam Surridge, on his return to the Vitality Stadium, scored his first Premier League goal late on to deny Bournemouth their first league win since November, and leave Gary O’Neil’s side languishing in the relegation zone.
The Nottingham Forest striker was booed on to the pitch in the 75th minute as he replaced the ineffective debutant Chris Wood, signed on loan from Newcastle United. Surridge was also booed off after full-time but was lauded by Steve Cooper, his head coach…
…Surridge’s goal in the 83rd minute followed waves of pressure from Forest. Kieffer Moore, whose involvement dwindled as the game wore on, headed a pass loosely in his own half, which was seized upon by Brennan Johnson. He crossed to the far post and Surridge followed in to turn the ball home.
The Telegraph , Tom Prentki
Sam Surridge picked quite the moment to score his first Premier League goal: against his former club, seven minutes from time, to give Nottingham Forest a crucial point in their battle to stay in the top flight…
…Cooper admitted that his side were below par during a first half in which Ryan Yates had a goal ruled out by Var and Bournemouth went in front through an excellent finish from Jaidon Anthony after he controlled and finished a cross from debutant Dango Ouattara. But Forest were much more composed in the second half, dominated possession and deservedly equalised when Surridge prodded in Brennan Johnson’s low cross and was adjudged onside after a Var check…
…A draw was about right, with the majority of the chances coming in the first half. There was intrigue in both line-ups, with Bournemouth giving a start to 20-year-old winger Ouattara, who signed from Lorient last week. Nottingham Forest did likewise with Chris Wood, who has joined on loan from Newcastle.
The Guardian
The Nottingham Forest manager, Steve Cooper, toasted a special moment for his striker Sam Surridge after the substitute claimed his first Premier League goal to snatch a draw at his former club Bournemouth.
Forest looked set to slip to defeat at the Vitality Stadium after Jaidon Anthony’s opener before Surridge, a graduate from the Bournemouth academy, poked home a milestone strike seven minutes from time.
The forward, who was jeered by sections of the home crowd when he was brought on, was given a round of applause in the away dressing room after his crucial impact having come on for the debutant Chris Wood.
Cooper felt a draw was the minimum his side merited on the south coast and sang the praises of Surridge, who has been restricted to a peripheral role at the City Ground.
The Daily Mail , Paul Brown
There were plenty of new faces as well as old at the Vitality Stadium as Forest had one new signing in the starting line-up in striker Chris Wood and two more on the bench in Danilo and Gustavo Scarpa.
But it was Bournemouth new boy Ouattara, a 20-year-old Burkina Faso international, who impressed the most after being thrown in because of an injury crisis after only a day’s training.
He spun away from his marker early on before racing on to a pinpoint return pass from Ryan Christie and forcing goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey to save with his legs.
Bournemouth then had a lucky break when Ryan Yates headed home a Willy Boly flick-on from a Morgan Gibbs-White corner — only for VAR Paul Tierney to rule it out because Boly was offside.
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