To establish Nottingham Forest as a Premier League club – and keep Steve Cooper, a manager beloved among its fans in situ – an improvement in away form is desperately required. A game lost from a winning position, albeit one held for just 43 seconds of play, was a severe blow to both objectives.
Even though they knew precisely what was coming, Forest’s failure to deal with James Ward-Prowse’s expert delivery from corners and Tomas Soucek’s aerial prowess cost them the point to which they had been clinging since Jarrod Bowen’s headed equaliser. That, too, arrived via Ward-Prowse’s boot. One win from seven, just four points away from the City Ground, and 15th place with Bournemouth improving fast, spells imminent danger.
