Nottingham Forest grabbed their first win of the Premier League season as they defeated Southampton 1-0, with a second-half Morgan Gibbs-White strike sealing the deal for the dominant Reds. George Edwards was at the game
Defeats on the road had become almost customary for Nottingham Forest since their Premier League return. Southampton away brought back memories of that solitary away win in their first season, and last term was hardly a drastic improvement.
However, the Reds have now amassed three consecutive away wins in the Premier League following their trip to the south coast, a hattrick of convincing performances and cherished memories flowing from last season into this.
Granted, the opponents were two relegated sides and a promoted one — but it’s not how they come about, it’s that they come about.
These types of runs are spells that can shift momentum and instigate prominent change for the better. So, with Morgan Gibbs-White’s second-half finish securing the three points, here’s four points to take away from today.
A carbon copy of last week
Apart from the result, which is the crucial factor, Forest’s performance at St Mary’s largely mirrored that of the display on show against Bournemouth last week.
A first half of dominance by Forest. The pressing was on point, with Forest working as a unit and choosing their moments carefully; with Chris Wood leading the line in that regard, something he has struggled to carry out previously.
In possession, they looked exciting and unpredictable, whilst also completely nullifying the Southampton threat, despite the Saints’ harmless but dominant possession. Forest bossed the first half and looked like the established Premier League side, as they should do against newly promoted opposition.
Then the second half came around, and that dominance was gone. Southampton had far more of the ball and Forest, seemingly happily, sat off them. Luckily, Southampton lacked any kind of punishment in the final third, mustering just one single attempt in the second half.
Unlike last Saturday, one goal was enough for the points — a scrappy one at that — despite Forest’s first half superiority. Kudos for getting the job done, and for showing their quality where it counts, but now is the time for consistency across 90 minutes.
A solid defensive display
Leaving Willy Boly out of the starting XI seemed harsh after his positive performance last weekend, but debutant Nikola Milenkovic proved just why. On a day where Murillo didn’t have his best, Milenkovic stepped up, organised and marshalled the three points home.
As mentioned, Southampton only had one shot in the second half despite having their best moments in that period, mustering just five across the 90 minutes. The Serbian ended the day with the best pass completion of any starting player whilst also making six clearances and five recoveries — a dominant debut from the 26-year-old.
Either side of him, Ola Aina and particularly Neco Williams weren’t as attacking as normal, instead focusing on the clean sheet. Kyle Walker-Peters and Ben Brereton Diaz make up a reasonably threatening left side, but neither got the best of Williams, much to the amusement of the visiting supporters given the ‘Chilean’s’ ex-Forest status.
A 1-0 lead is always tense towards the end, especially as a Forest fan, but the Reds were never really in danger of conceding, which was as much down to their defensive solidity as it was to Southampton’s lack of quality.
Midfield taking shape
With Danilo out, Ryan Yates seemed the obvious choice to replace him for two reasons. One: his positive display off the bench last weekend, and two: the fact Forest were away from home against a side who play possession-based football.
But Nuno was bold, selecting Elliot Anderson for his full Forest debut, a choice that paid off big time.
In possession, Anderson played an advanced role, almost next to Morgan Gibbs-White, meaning Forest were able to move quickly with the ball at feet and have options both sides. It also meant the Geordie could support Anthony Elanga on the right side, allowing Williams to stay back as mentioned.
That also allowed Ibrahim Sangaré to operate as a lone number six for large periods, and he excelled. The Ivorian covered so much ground and read play well, always looking to progress play forwards if he could. He lasted 66 minutes and was a red card waiting to happen at that stage, but has now strung together two positive performances off the back of a really exciting pre-season.
He will make mistakes, especially if he’s left there on his own like he was yesterday, but it’s vital that the manager backs him and allows him to come through bad periods. It looks like Nuno trusts him at the moment, and he is slowly looking like the player he was billed to be.
And to round off the midfield, leader and main man Morgan Gibbs-White with the winning goal. Perfection.
Got to take their chances
I think I’ve made it pretty clear that Southampton were woeful in front of goal. However, Forest, despite getting the win, weren’t much better.
Yes, they created far more chances, and better chances, but scoring just one of their many opportunities probably wouldn’t cut it against many other Premier League sides.
With 23 shots and five big chances, just one goal proves that the blade needs to be sharper. And if Forest were against competitive opposition then it’s likely what happened last week would have happened again.
Chris Wood has been the man to rely on in the box in 2024, with nine goals so far this year, but he should have made it 10 — at least — in the first half at St Mary’s. Three clear strikes at goal from very good angles failing to trouble Alex McCarthy isn’t exactly prolific, but everyone has bad games.
The difference was that Forest found a goal from another area. A scrappy, recycled set piece finished off on the second bite of the cherry, with limbs returning to a Forest away end for the first time in a few months.
Nuno’s Reds sat in fourth place as the final whistle blew, with an unbeaten record and a win under their belt. Good to be back, eh?
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