On Saturday we walked away from Wigan with a lucky point, this evening Ipswich did the same to us and I can now understand Wigan’s frustration.
Forest started the game slowly, but as they grew in confidence Ipswich were slowly pushed back.
Chances were rare for both sides in the first 20 minutes, but Gareth Taylor did have a golden opportunity as he headed from close range only to see Davis pull off a superb save in the Ipswich goal.
Then on 28 minutes the Reds finally made the breakthrough as Louis-Jean crossed the ball, Taylor headed it down to David Johnson who turned and fired a blistering shot. Again, Davis pulled off a fine save, but could only deflect the ball into the path of Paul Evans who had a simple tap in to give Forest a deserved lead.
For the remainder of the first half it was all Forest and as the half drew to a close Louis-Jean almost doubled the lead as he rifled a shot at goal only to see it drift inches wide with Davis beaten.
The second half started much the same as the first had ended, Forest were in control and Ipswich were struggling to make headway.
Then, on 53 minutes, and against the run of play, Ipswich grabbed an equaliser. It came from a corner kick and Naylor flicked it on for Darren Bent to prod home.
Forest didn’t let the goal get to them and continued to put Ipswich under the cosh, yet despite their domination they failed to regain the lead thanks to the woodwork and some good goalkeeping from Davis.
Andy Reid fired in a glorious shot from the edge of the penalty area only to see it crash onto the underside of the bar and bounce out. Johnson also hit the woodwork and Taylor was the unluckiest as he hit it twice, both with close range headers.
Ipswich brought on Bowditch for the final minutes, but even this failed to galvanise them into action and Forest continued to press to the end.
On another day Forest would have won this by three or four goals, but that’s the joy of football. It was a fine team performance and if Joe keeps them playing like this all season then it’s gonna be a great year.
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