News News Blog: Nottingham Forest

Nottingham Forest 0 - Watford 1: Late Odion Ighalo strike sees the Hornets sting Forest

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ODION IGHALO spent 71 minutes on the bench but only took 17 minutes to send Watford into the hat for the fifth round. </h3>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Odion Igahlo was Watford's hero again as they progressed to the fifth-round of the FA Cup</td></tr>
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Hornets' boss Quique Sanchez Flores wanted to give the Nigerian striker a rest but was forced to send him on to avoid a replay.</div>
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And the 14-goal scoring machine made no mistake with the chance he made for himself, pouncing on Kelvin Wilson's 88th minute mistake.</div>
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The one thing promotion-chasing Forest will have learnt after looking set to get another money-spinning shot at upsetting the Premier League side, is that you can't give Ighalo a sniff.</div>
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He has scored ten goals in his last 15 games and here he helped Watford end a run of five FA Cup away games without a win.</div>
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He punished Forest's first real defensive mistake and left Jamie Ward even more depressed after he fluffed an easier opportunity with the last kick of the first half.</div>
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Ward had a clear run on goal when he seized on a slip by Allan Nyom and only had keeper Costel Pantilimon to beat but he stabbed his effort wide.</div>
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It was a real let off for Pantilimon and the Premier League outfit.</div>
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The Romanian goalie couldn't have had an easier debut. A virtual spectator for most of the game, he could still have been picking the ball out of his net before he'd had a save to make.</div>
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At the other end Nordin Amrabat was denied a goal when Dorus De Vries, who had kept out long-range shots from Adlene Guedioura and Ikechi Anya's angled strike, turned his shot around the post.</div>
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Forest made little impact to leave Dougie Freedman with nothing to celebrate on first anniversary of taking over at the City Ground and his 50th game in charge.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Watford players celebrate with Ighalo after his late goal</td></tr>
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Forest chief Dougie Freedman said: "It was a cruel blow and I don't think we deserved it. We gave them too much respect in the first half although we had the best chance with Jamie Ward.</div>
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"We had enough chances to have won it but we never took them. We gave them half a chance and he's taken half a chance. If their manager is honest he will tell you they were fortunate to go away with a win.</div>
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"It's a game of two boxes - if you don't take chances when they come along it's always going to be very borderline. They bring on a fantastic player to change it and it worked for them. They'll go home relieved to have won."</div>
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Watford's Quique Sanchez Flores, who confirmed he hopes to see the deal to sign Fiorentina's Spanish midfielder Mario Suarez in the next 48 hours, said: "We are happy today because we have given the Watford fans the opportunity to dream.</div>
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"It was difficult to find the space but we tried and finally Ighalo did it. It always looks easier for us to score when he is there. To score in the last minute is good, it's part of football.</div>
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"We have controlled all the game and I don't have the feeling we were lucky. In the last 20 minutes we thought we could get that one step more. We kept all the positive player on the bench until the last 20 minutes and we did it."</div>
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Nottingham Forest 0 - Watford 1: Late Odion Ighalo strike sees the Hornets sting Forest

ODION IGHALO spent 71 minutes on the bench but only took 17 minutes to send Watford into the hat for the fifth round. Odion Igah...

Forest 1 - Leeds 1: Premier League target Sam Byram grabs late equaliser in Nottingham

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THE FOOTBALL LEAGUE did their best to ruin Nottingham Forest's festive spirit by slapping a transfer embargo on the Championship club on Christmas Eve. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sam Byram salutes the Leeds fans after his equaliser at Nottingham Forest</td></tr>
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It was the second time in successive years Forest had breached Financial Fair Play rules. The ban will run until the end of the season and means Forest will have gone 18 months without paying for a player - not that they need to.</div>
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Manager Dougie Freedman insisted back in February his squad was strong enough to cope without buying new recruits. And they were here - for a time.</div>
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Freedman won seven of his first 10 games in charge to push the side towards the top half of the table, but a lack of fresh faces eventually told as the club ended the season winless from eight outings.</div>
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Leeds rose and slumped in the same fashion with Neil Redfearn in charge after also enduring last January's window under an embargo.</div>
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This term, without any summer recruits, Forest have been just as inconsistent. Bursts of form bookmarked an autumn period where they again went eight games without a win and were looking nervously at the drop zone.</div>
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Freedman's men are recovering well from that drought and, just like Leeds, are playing catch-up on the Championship play-off places, although yesterday's draw will help neither side in that pursuit.</div>
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Last summer Freedman brought in three men on free transfers. Attacker Jamie Ward, from Derby, has kept his place, as has former Bolton defender Matt Mills.</div>
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But it was promising Spaniard Daniel Pinillos, a free arrival from Cordoba, who has most impressed at the City Ground - and who will be sorely missed after his season was ended by a cruciate ligament injury before Christmas.</div>
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Michael Mancienne moved left to fill in for Pinillos yesterday, with Jack Hobbs partnering the impressive Mills.</div>
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Leeds looked the brighter side in the opening stages, striker Chris Wood seeing a free header cleared off the line. But Forest took the lead when Mills split Giuseppe Bellusci and the out-rushing Marco Silvestri to hand forward Nelson Oliveira a tap-in.</div>
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Mills could have scored himself as Forest sought a second after the break but, like Wood, his header from a corner was cleared onto a post.</div>
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And it was a vital block for Leeds as Sam Byram slammed home the equaliser with 10 minutes left, the 22-year-old drilling into the bottom corner from 25 yards.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Byram will be a transfer target for Premier League clubs in January</td></tr>
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Substitute Ward hit the post in the last minute but it was a reprieve Leeds deserved considering their fightback.</div>
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The point continues Leeds' festive drought - they have not won a fixture immediately after Christmas since 2009.</div>
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Manager Steve Evans has an equally large task to navigate his club through January and out the other end thinking of promotion rather than survival.</div>
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Byram, their star full-back playing in midfield at the City Ground, is out of contract next summer.</div>
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He could leave Elland Road for the Premier League's highest bidder next month, with Leeds left to decide if they should cash in on him now or hold out for compensation in the summer.</div>
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Byram clearly has a taste for Premier League football - he was booked for diving 14 minutes in - but while his goal will lead this game's highlights package his overall performance won't have impressed any scouts watching.</div>
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Nottingham Forest: De Vries; Lichaj, Mills, Hobbs, Mancienne; Mendes (Ward 62), Lansbury, Vaughan (Burke 83), Osborn; Oliveria, O'Grady. Booked: Mendes, Lansbury, Osborn. Goal: Oliveira 17.</div>
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Leeds: Silvestri; Wootton, Bellusci, Cooper, Taylor; Byram (Coyle 90); Cook (Doukara 62), Bridcutt, Murphy, Dallas (Antenucci 77); Wood. Booked: Byram, Bellusci. Goal: Byram 80.</div>
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Referee: J Linington.</div>
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Forest 1 - Leeds 1: Premier League target Sam Byram grabs late equaliser in Nottingham

THE FOOTBALL LEAGUE did their best to ruin Nottingham Forest's festive spirit by slapping a transfer embargo on the Championship club o...

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