Steve Cooper’s post-match press conferences are normally calm affairs, and even though there was no tension in the air in the media room after Nottingham Forest’s 3-2 defeat to West Ham, Cooper’s anger was palpable.
Fresh and furious from seeing Tomas Soucek head in the 88th-minute winner at the London Stadium, Cooper sat down to discuss a game that should have seen Forest head back up the M1 with at least a point.
Instead, they conceded from two James Ward-Prowse corners with slack marking as players were either overpowered, lost their man, or both. It was so bad that it’s almost possible to forget how Nicolas Dominguez gifted West Ham the ball for their first goal.
Forest also played some good football and again looked like a Premier League team in most facets of the game, but not enough of them as they have one win in eight games heading into the international break. It should be a better record. Forest should have beaten Luton Town, but they threw that one away too.
They also might have gotten wins against Brentford and Crystal Palace, but by the same token, they have picked up big wins against Chelsea and Aston Villa when they were clear underdogs.
Cooper’s rage after the game
The Reds boss had just discussed his annoyance over a lack of marking from corners when asked if he felt there were still positive signs as an away team.
“Everyone has asked me that. The TV and the radio have asked me the same question, even in a more positive way. We know we’re doing a lot better things away from home; we know that, but we’ve just thrown a result away,” he said.
“As I said, if we’d been sitting here at 2-2, I’d have been really disappointed. To lose it in the way we did, it’s our own fault and I can’t look past that at the moment. OK, I know we’re doing a lot better than we have done previously.
“Looking at the game in isolation, I’m disappointed that that we’ve not won but it’s our own fault. There’s a real opportunity to come here and win. We really felt there was. I say that respectfully.
“This is the aftermath of throwing it away but we’ve just got to keep going and get better at some of the things we’ve not done well away from home. I’ve sat here after away results when we’ve lost and said we just need to get better. This is one where we’ve just thrown it away. Their keeper made a great save at 1-0, T (Awoniyi) had a big chance to score before Anthony (Elanga) did. It all adds up. This could have been such a more comfortable day than it was and we’ve only got ourselves to blame.”
Gifting Goals and set piece woes (again)
Elanga’s goal after 63 minutes gave Forest a well-deserved lead after they rallied from a poor start. However, two minutes later, Jarrod Bowen headed into Ward-Prowse’s corner, and Forest was unable to hold on. Bowen is a skilled player with outstanding aerial ability. A goal is always possible since Ward-Prowse takes the best corners in England, but Forest will be quite irritated if they give the England international a free header six yards away.
The full story is told by the fact that Forest gave up more set pieces while West Ham threatened to counterattack. When Ward-Prowse was put in another corner, it was difficult to determine who was supposed to be marking Soucek. Most likely, it was Willy Boly, but Soucek got free and powered a header past Odysseas Vlachodimos. Forest were physically overpowered by a team they matched in open play. That will be hard to take.
Not perfect at all.
Cooper frequently asserts that defeating elite teams requires a flawless team effort. Against West Ham, who appeared to be another mid-table team the Reds can try to finish above or close to the conclusion of the season, Forest did not need to be that.
In addition to the defensive errors already described, Ola Aina nearly gave West Ham the lead with a misdirected header. There were also squandered opportunities, most notably when Anthony Elanga passed to Taiwo Awoniyi, who pulled a shot wide.
Even in those less-than-ideal moments, Forest would have taken at least a point if they had performed a decent job of defending dead balls.
Dominguez dropping his standards
Nicolas Dominguez has been exceptional since he came into the team but he never seemed to recover from a nightmare start when he smashed the ball into Ibrahim Sangare and West Ham scored three minutes in. Even after that, he was slower to reach the ball than normal, and his passing was below his normal standard.
There is no reason to suspect this was anything more than an off day for a player who came into the game having been ill in the week. There was an opportunity for Danilo in the second half to get his place back if he had stepped up, and while the Brazilian was decent, he probably didn’t do enough to dislodge Dominguez.
Morgan Gibbs-White
Gibbs-White was the subject of debate again online after his performance, as some fans felt he gave the ball away too much with failed flicks and tricks. To an extent, this is true. A first-half backheel in midfield springs to mind, but he also had a huge hand in Forest’s first goal as his shot was saved before being tapped in by Taiwo Awoniyi.
At the moment, he is doing a job for the team. Pushed out to the right wing, he is less effective than in a central role. There are also negative comments on his set-piece delivery. Personally, they were fine, but not at the elite level. When the guy taking them for the other side is one of the best in the world, it is hard not to look bad.
If Forest has a better dead ball taker, he should come off them, but I’m not sure they do. It is also important to congratulate the former England Under-21 international on becoming a father for the first time last week. Some sleepless nights await.
