Preston’s pleasure in pain

Oh how we’ve been spoilt at Doncaster Rovers in recent times. I genuinely can’t remember the last occasion we had a game like against Preston last night; one of those dreaded games billed as ‘MUST WIN’ or a ‘REAL SIX-POINTER’

These sorts of matches are apparently exciting for the neutrals but faithful followers are put through the wringer – the long way to hell and back.

Chances were frequent but frittered away and the action was as frenetic as it was fragmented. It was an evening fraught with frustration.

There were two spirited sides who were committed to attack but both possessed little cohesion in their play and a complete lack of co-ordination in defence.

If it hadn’t mattered so much, it might have been good fun. Having said that, I have found the Championship to be far from a joy division as a supporter, so I’m sticking to my verdict: It was painful!

The PNE travelling contingent seemed to be made up of masochists. Like the song about the post-punk band by the Wombats, they were celebrating the irony: Everything is going wrong, but they were so happy.

Donny fans, including myself, were notably more tense and grumpy. We didn’t care for this drama, for there’s only one thing worse than a ‘must win’ game and that’s a must not lose affair, which is what this game actually was for us.

Perhaps Preston had accepted their fate beforehand and were hoping for the best whereas all we could do, as Rovers followers, was live in fear of the worst. Being seven points outside the bottom three with six games to go meant only one thing: it was ours to mess up while for Preston, it was the chance of the Great Escape.

While PNE fans seemed fairly relaxed, their manager, Phil Brown, who would love to do a Steve McQueen around Deepdale, was living on the edge. Sporting his traditional suit with overcoat, earpiece and perma-tan, Brown was like a ticking timebomb on the bench.

The man at the helm didn’t need an invitation to come onto the pitch, but boy did he get one in the second half, with a huge RSVP stamped all over it, when referee Scott Mathieson inexplicably decided that Jimmy O’Connor hadn’t fouled Eddie Johnson in the box.

Johnson raced up field from a break following a Rovers corner and was about to score when O’Connor took him down. Even as a die-hard fan with rose-tinted specs, my head went into my hands. Penalty. Red card. 1-0 down with ten men in the game we couldn’t afford to lose.

To my amazement – literal, full-bodied amazement given Mr Mathieson had penalised every little thing in the match – as I looked up thinking it was all over, Brown was on the pitch not celebrating a goal but berating the wee man in charge.

Mr Mathieson was pointing for a corner; not to the spot. But although O’Connor had been booked for simulation in the first half, there was nothing given here, so what exactly was the ref’s interpretation? Like most of Mr Mathieson’s decisions or the game in general, I couldn’t quite fathom it out but I’ve long given up trying to understand.

One thing I do know is that it felt like a sign that we’d stay up at PNE’s expense. And after 77 minutes of basketball-style football without a goal despite it gaping on countless occasions, we got another nod from the footballing gods.

Brian Stock was treated like an outcast at Deepdale, so when our skipper lashed home the opening goal, how good that must have felt. My parents always told me that getting payback is not the way to react but I concur with little Karen from Outnumbered: “Revenge is quite a good thing,” she says, “cause then they know never to do it again.”

The most important thing, naturally, was the goal boosted our survival bid but Stock looked as though he’d put the final nail in their Championship coffin. What with the penalty and manner of the goal – with its timing and its scorer – it was all going our way, right?

Wrong. Before I’d even had time to say ‘Paul Hayes always scores against us’, the sub had stuck in the equaliser with his first touch from an offside position and suddenly our luck had run out. It was game back on. Brown was again on the pitch, dancing around like the man from those silly tango adverts.

It was now time for tactical astuteness. There was a special gesture from Brown, with his arms being waved quickly towards our goal (code for ‘take no care, just boot the bloody thing forward’). This, I thought, had been the general gameplan throughout but Brown now sensed victory so the signalling was being done more vigourously.

The penalty was forgotten (for now). It was Preston’s turn to feel their destiny was to score another goal and close the gap. For Brown to make it a hat-trick of forbidden appearances on the Keepmoat turf before the final whistle.

From my point of view, it was a baffling turn of events. Suddenly we went from looking safe to defending like madmen. Sean O’Driscoll shoved another big centre half on, whose sole aim in life was to head the bloody thing away after it had been booted forward with hope in the absence of accuracy.

With a lack of conviction in both teams’ defending, this was not for the faint-hearted. They attacked. Then we broke forward again. Then we were caught short again. This was end-to-end stuff and quite frankly, I didn’t care for it. Although 1-0 would have been great, 1-1 was acceptable. Blow up Mr Mathieson, put us all out of our misery.

Still no whistle. Another break. A yellow shirt was again sprinting towards our goal with no challenge forthcoming. Out came Gary Woods, who had a fine game, and the ball deflected over him and across goal. From the angle I was sat at, it looked like it was in. It wasn’t, thank goodness.

The final whistle went and I didn’t really know whether to laugh or cry; to be pleased, disappointed or relieved. I suspect Preston’s fans felt the same. Brown was again on the pitch – this time legally – clapping the travelling supporters who sung their little hearts out for their beloved Lilywhites.

I couldn’t help feeling a little sorry for them because they’re clearly a loyal bunch and had their team played with such endeavour all the way through, they surely wouldn’t be in the bottom three.

But the feeling quickly passed because there’s no room for compassion in these situations. Put simply, Preston needed to win and we didn’t. It was a good result for us in the circumstances.

While Brown was presumerably heading towards the referee’s room, O’Driscoll just stood quietly with the look of a man who didn’t know what had just happened – and he wasn’t the only one. He may also, I suspect, have been wondering quite why we are all fascinated by this frustrating game.

Upon hearing that Scunny and Sheffield United had lost, it emerged that we’d moved one point further away from the bottom three with another game chalked off the list. So I was just grateful for small mercies.

The good news is we can go through it once more on Saturday. Love – no doubt – will tear us apart, again.

Sheffield shambles…

What on earth has happened to football in Sheffield in recent times? Not so long ago the Blades were in the Premier League while the Owls were an established Championship team.

This was happening while Doncaster Rovers were re-establishing themselves as a Football League team but how the tables have turned. It looks increasingly likely that Rovers will start in a division higher than both clubs next season. What a turnaround.

While Donny were battling to an extremely valuable goalless draw at Nottingham Forest, Sheffield Wednesday were losing 1-0 at Notts County in League One and Sheffield United were even worse.

They lost 3-0 at Watford with just nine men in an important Championship game. It was their second loss by that margin with two men short in recent weeks and left manager Micky Adams questioning his future.

Adams is on the brink after overseeing just one win since taking over at the beack end of 2010 and his charges are six points adrift of safety with a goal difference of minus 27. They have picked up just 32 points from 37 games; needing roughly 18 more from their last nine matches.

Two points a game is promotion form and there are no signs they are capable of pulling it out of the bag. Just take a listen to Adams’ depressing post-match interview after the Watford debacle:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_1/9418799.stm

I thought he’d be struggling to keep the Blades up after the very first game at Burnley on New Year’s Day – he was already questioning character and leadership just one game in. Have a listen to this:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_1/9322915.stm

There was talk of a ‘siege mentality’ in an interview not long after this one; the writing has been on the wall for some time now.

So the Steel City derby looks like being a League One fixture next year. As a follower of football in the region, it gives me no pleasure to see it. But it does provide an insight as to how well Doncaster have done in recent times.

We are still not safe, but the resilience shown by the club in the face of many injury problems has been heart-warming. We should have enough to stay up; six points from nine games will do it.

If we do, we’ll start next season as one of the Yorkshire’s leading placed clubs. Who’d have thought that when the 1998-99 season came to its conclusion?

Nottingham Forest 0 Doncaster Rovers 0

Gordon Ramsay loves an F-word and there were plenty flying around the City Ground on Saturday afternoon. Many being uttered by the home faithful were unrepeatable but one that was popular – and printable – was ‘frustrating’. That suited Doncaster Rovers just fine as they ground out a priceless goalless draw by the side of the Trent.

The buzzword that circulated among the travelling contingent was Friend; for although the stand-in centre half nearly let in Rob Earnshaw on the stroke of half-time after a miskick, the youngster was otherwise outstanding for a fourth time in five games.

His general calmness on the ball and solid defending epitomised a fine Rovers’ rearguard that could have seen one point turn to three as the team grew in confidence. Ryan Mason (twice) and James Coppinger went close in the latter stages as Forest got fragmented and flustered but the hosts could well have nicked it too.

They probably should have on balance of chances and Forest fans were left to bemoan what was generally thought to be a drab game. From the away end, it appeared to be gripping; perhaps that’s the joy of following a smaller club trying to stay up than supporting a bigger one with larger expectations.

Maybe it’s just that results change perceptions and an away point is always more satisfying than a home one. An away clean sheet and subsequent point against a top-six team who hardly lose at home is certainly pleasing when you’re contending with multiple injuries including leading marksman Billy Sharp and possess the worst defensive record in the league.

Sean O’Driscoll rarely gets his tactics wrong and Doncaster played this one to perfection. It was reminiscent of an underdog in a cup tie; soaking up the pressure and growing in stature as the game wore on. However, it is also a dangerous game because Forest knew they were only ever a goal away from blowing the visitors’ best laid plans out of the water.

Doncaster needed to be men and not mice – and there was no squeaking. The early pattern of play was set as Forest enjoyed plenty of the ball and Rovers sat deep. They looked nice and organised. Was this really a side that had only kept one clean sheet away from home all season?

It didn’t look that way. There was a resilience and character here; a bloody-mindedness. The visitors were going to have to be broken down. One goal may well have been enough but Rovers seemed to relish living on the edge and the spirit pulled them through as much as anything else.

Forest had plenty of huffing and puffing but when the ball broke in front of goal, there was nothing but fluffing. Earnshaw was denied by a smart save by Gary Woods at the end of the first half but he really should have punished a rare Friend mistake. Nathan Tyson should also have buried a free header from one of several threatening Chris Gunter crosses when well positioned after the interval; he glanced it well wide.

Winger Garath McCleary then had the freedom of Nottingham with six minutes remaining but took a heavy touch and Friend recovered brilliantly to block. When home debutant Kris Boyd completely missed his kick towards the end of the game, Rovers knew they were leaving with a precious 44^th point of the campaign.

Between those chances the assured Sam Hird punted one off the line and Doncaster, buoyed by the introduction of the livewire Mason, were also a threat on the break. Workhorse James Hayter ploughed a lone furrow valiantly in the face of the brick wall that was Wes Morgan and Luke Chambers and when he linked well with the Tottenham loanee, Rovers ought to have been ahead.

Mason slipped the shot agonisingly wide and also shot across Lee Camp from another counter. You could sense there was a goal in the match but given Rovers’ horrible tendency to give away late goals – particularly when Keith Stroud is refereeing – and their lack of shut-outs, Forest were always favourites to nick it.

When Stroud last officiated Rovers, a brave performance was undone by a last-gasp sickener at Millwall and the season before saw the official give an injury-time penalty at Scunthorpe. There was no repeat here. Rovers, well marshalled in midfield by Brian Stock and the excellent Simon Gillett on his welcome return from injury, got the tangible reward their endeavours warranted.

Forest fans on BBC Radio Nottingham were far from impressed but although a run of six games without a win is disappointing, it does not constitute a crisis. The Trees were far from their best and badly missed the presence of Dexter Blackstock but Doncaster were never going to just lay down and die; our Championship status is far too precious for that.

It was pleasing to see a combative display and there were also signs of the Rovers we know and love with the reacquaintance of Stock, Gillett, Coppinger and Hayter and their combination with the vivacious loan duo Mason and Franck Moussa. Although it wasn’t vintage stuff by any means, the lads kept the ball far better than in recent weeks and it meant the defence was not under constant pressure.

Although the stoppers get blamed for concessions, you defend as a team and Rovers’ midfield worked tirelessly to protect the back four; Gillett undoubtedly improved us in that regard. The indefatigable Hayter defended from the front and the outcome was one of those gutsy team performances where you couldn’t fault anybody.

Sections of the home crowd were understandably annoyed by the result but whereas Forest need wins to keep up with the pace, Donny are in a position where they can chalk on any point and chalk off every game. With Sheffield United, Scunthorpe United and Crystal Palace all losing – the former being thrashed 3-0 with nine men for a second time in recent weeks – this was one more on and one more off, as it were.

Every point nudges us closer…

At first glance, Nottingham Forest against Doncaster Rovers looks a home banker. It’s 6th v 17th, it’s promotion chasers against a team looking to survive, it’s the league’s leakiest defence travelling to a potent attack literally buoyed by the arrival of a new striker. It’s a strong Forest rearguard against a Rovers side lacking their leading marksman, Billy Sharp.

This is not a clear-cut division though. After writing about how well Nottingham Forest played in their 2-1 success against fellow promotion chasers Cardiff City the other week, the Trees have not registered a win in their last five games.

As if to underline the unpredictability of the Championship, Doncaster Rovers have lost just once in the same period despite not registering a shot or corner during a 3-0 trouncing at Swansea that very afternoon. The defeat followed up a 6-0 reverse at home to Ipswich the previous Tuesday and to say things weren’t looking good is putting it mildly.

Strong minds were needed and the team has shown great character to come from behind to record draws with Norwich, Watford and Coventry and to see off Derby at Pride Park since the defeat in South Wales. The 5-2 loss at Leeds last Saturday displayed all of Rovers’ well-known defensive frailties but I’d have taken six points from the last five games and it gives us a nine-point ‘cushion’ going into the last ten.

That gap was put in inverted commas because third-from-bottom Scunthorpe possess a game in hand and that’s basement boys Preston on Tuesday so, in theory, it could be six. That doesn’t sound a lot but when you consider Leicester are questioning their play-off credentials because they trail by seven points, then you realise it is. The Foxes, ironically, could do their hopes – and ours – a huge favour by winning at Glanford Park tomorrow.

It would be nice to have more and be pushing for the play-offs but Sean O’Driscoll has done a terrific job in the circumstances given he has been fire-fighting with limited amounts of water. Staying up will be a huge achievement given the injury problems and it’s well within reach. I reckon another seven points will do and I’m sure we can get them.

The important thing in this division is to concentrate on what you’re doing and not to worry about results on any given day, such as Sheffield United beating Forest and Crystal Palace seeing off Cardiff in the week. If anything, it shows that anyone can beat anyone and should give Rovers heart ahead of the next two tough assignments.

Although it’s hard to see how a team struggling for points can overcome two of the best sides in the league, we are meeting them at good times in my opinion. It’s not often Forest lose two on the bounce – they’ve lost just seven all season – and QPR are facing a points deduction following an investigation into the signing of their midfield playmaker Alejandro Faurlin.

Forest followed an extremely rare home defeat to Hull with a setback at the Blades, who had not won under ‘new’ boss Micky Adams; a run that stretched back into 2010. Some might say this is therefore a dangerous time to play Forest (the ‘wounded animal’ argument) and they may be right but it’s probably as good as any. The same goes for QPR, whose rise to the top has been relentless and trouble-free to this point.

Whichever way you look at it, there is nothing to lose because Donny will be expected to lose both games. Even if results go the way that many expect, there will be a much-needed fortnight off after the QPR game and then eight games to go. There are players to come back and plenty of opportunities to keep our heads above water.

Every point nudges us closer to our target as the 1-1 draw with Coventry in midweek demonstrated. Sharp will be a huge loss but James Hayter’s return is vital and he epitomised Rovers’ spirit during the dire 1-1 stalemate.

Despite receiving precious little service in a dreadfully scrappy game – and although it was a first full 90 minutes for some time – Hayts kept going and grabbed a vital equaliser in the final minute of normal time. Hayter’s sheer desire to chase every single ball has been badly missed and that’s not mentioning his knack of popping up with vital goals.

Donny could even have nicked all three points in stoppage time and the endeavour was commendable in tough circumstances. Coventry came to be dogged and time waste at every available opportunity but the team were not disheartened and refused to lie down; a vital quality at this stage of the season. (As an aside, it was also nice to score a late goal against Coventry for once rather than suffering an undeserved setback to one going in at the other end.)

So although we’re not in great form and still have several players out, the last five games has proved the team has what it takes to survive. One huge bonus at the moment is there are plenty of poor teams in and around us; Derby and Coventry are testament to that. And that’s not even mentioning the bottom five, who have plenty of problems between them.

Rovers phone a Friend…

Sometimes when you’re looking for wood, you can’t see it for the trees. Doncaster Rovers have tried to address their left centre half problem by bringing in new signings but the solution has been right under their noses if George Friend’s performance during yesterday’s 1-1 draw with Watford is anything to go by.

Friend has played in both full back positions at the club but looked an absolute natural in the heart of our defence. He also played well at Norwich in midweek according to reports and although it’s early days for the young man, he has certainly stepped up to the challenge

Playing against Grant Holt and Danny Graham was certainly a baptism of fire and his performance against the Hornets was a microcosm for the team’s display; spirited, hard-working and competitive.

Friend handled a lively Watford side well and Rovers were full value for their point – it could have been better had we taken our chances but a draw was a fair result.

Jason Euell got the first goal scored by a Rovers player since the 3-2 defeat at Ipswich in January and the Blackpool loanee generally looked lively. He really should have scored another in the second half but a point was not to be sniffed at; the bottom three all lost and it’s another game to chalk off the list.

At the final whistle, my man-of-the-match Friend did a whole lap of the ground to applaud our supporters, who made plenty of noise in a game where Chairman John Ryan watched from the South Stand.

If Ryan’s was a great gesture, then Friend’s was even better. The youngster has not had an easy ride from supporters since his summer switch from Wolves but the lad gives it his best shot, has potential, and clearly cares about the club.

Let’s hope it’s the first of many more good performances from our new found centre half! Another one at Derby on Tuesday night would be most welcome as we look to move closer to safety.

A change of perception…

We’ve got to that stage in the Championship season where every result seems to have an added significance. This works both ways, of course.

In a positive sense, gaining a point or three that you didn’t expect can have a hugely positive effect. So that makes Doncaster Rovers’ hard-earned point at promotion chasing Norwich one of the most important of the season. Not only did it put a halt to four straight defeats, it proved that Rovers can match any side in this division; regardless of who represents the club.

But the pressure on games appears to produce a negative affect. It seems to influence people’s perceptions and attitudes towards games and you could see that in the game at Carrow Road and at the City Ground following Preston’s dramatic late equaliser against Nottingham Forest.

Doncaster had 13 first-teamers out ahead of their trip to East Anglia and a 14th, captain Brian Stock, shouldn’t really have played. The bench was only filled with two youth teamers and the team included two loan signings who had only signed on very late last week.

None of that was Norwich’s fault, of course, but when chairman John Ryan suggested – and only suggested in the rhetorical sense, knowing full well we’d get no sympathy from the Football League – that the game might be called off, he would have hoped for a common-sense reply from the opposition.

We have four loan players in the squad and had their parent clubs said they couldn’t have played for any reason, we’d have had 10 fit senior players and Stock, who was never going to last for more than a hour. And two of those would have been goalkeepers.

In that case, we couldn’t have fielded a side, it’s as simple as that. You can’t be expected to throw youth teamers into your side at this level to cover for 17 senior unavailabilities in a 25-man squad.

Norwich’s response? Chief Executive David McNally: “There is nothing in the Football League’s rules that would allow them to call the game off,” he said.

“Even if there was something within the regulations that allowed the game to be called off, what a tragic, dangerous precedent for the game that would be.

“There would be cases being made on a daily basis by clubs, heart-wrenching stories from clubs on injury problems. And it would be a farce.”

My goodness. Would it really have been tragic to prevent Norwich from claiming what their fans clearly saw as a routine three points against a team that resembled an Emergency Room?

Dangerous? A farce? No, a farce would be fans paying £28 to watch their team play with 10 men and a goalkeeper up front and no senior substitutes. That could have happened had Franck Moussa, Jason Euell, Joe Mills and Matt Kilgallon been pulled out and Stock had to drop out at the last minute.

The game was never in danger of being called off, but then I heard that Paul Lambert was “stunned” by his side suffering three injuries before the game. I failed to see the funny side of it all. Norwich knew the game would be played because of the regulations, so why not just express sympathy and not pass comment on/make light of our situation?

What goes around usually comes around, so it did not surprise me in the slightest that Adam Drury put through his own net late on to gift us a first goal in five games and allow us to take a point in the process. Although Lambert said he was pleased with a draw, no doubt he and McNally was cursing behind the scenes at their missed opportunity.

A sizeable home crowd had turned up expecting the game to be a foregone conclusion according to Sky Sports News’ reporter Dickie Davies and they were said to be moaning and groaning at the final whistle. But Sean O’Driscoll has instilled character as well as quality in the club and Rovers were always going to fight hard.

Should the walking wounded just turned up, laid down and been run over by the Norwich promotion bandwagon? Perhaps that was McNally’s script for this latest edition of Casualty, but Rovers hadn’t read it and left with a point that halted their slide down the table.

Norwich followers may have forgotten that this time last year, they were in the division below while we have experienced this league three years now. As Lambert acknowledged at the end of the game, there was no divine right to win.

Norwich are having an excellent campaign and I gave them credit when they lost 3-1 at the Keepmoat Stadium earlier in the season. When we had something that resembled a full squad, we beat them comfortably. I wish the Canaries well for the rest of the season, but they will have to work hard for every single point in this battle-hardened league, I can assure them of that.

But putting all of that in perspective, I then saw something that disturbed me more that the Norwich pre-match comments. When Preston scored at Forest, their manager Phil Brown and support staff were in the home side’s technical area celebrating right in their faces. Rubbing it in, they were.

What was that all about? Okay, PNE had rescued a draw but are ten points adrift while Forest could go up. It was a good result but what an over-reaction. It’s important that, at all times, you have a full respect for the opposition. You play to win, but winning isn’t the be-all and end-all; I was taught that at primary school, for goodness sake.

Sure, it’s a results industry, but has it really come to the stage where you must sacrifice dignity in the pure pursuit of points? We are lucky to have O’Driscoll, a man of prinicples, in charge of our football club.

“There is nothing in the Football League’s rules that would allow them to call the game off,” he said.

“Even if there was something within the regulations that allowed the game to be called off, what a tragic, dangerous precedent for the game that would be.

I think it’s about time football should stop being a football a dog eat dog situation, Doncaster chairman John Ryan

“There would be cases being made on a daily basis by clubs, heart-wrenching stories from clubs on injury problems. And it would be a farce.”

No mist opportunity for Forest

In Nottingham Forest fans’ version of Paul McCartney’s Mull of Kintyre, the mist is said to roll in from the Trent. As I looked out into the city from the high vantage point of the Trent End, the falling rain amid the overcast skies created that image. It was grey and dismal; the sort of afternoon the word dank was invented for. Fortunately the football between promotion chasers Forest and Cardiff City did not live up to the conditions.

It was a bright, vibrant game that was hard to assess for the neutral (I was at the CG catching up with a very good mate of mine). Forest were the better side but a dangerous Cardiff team ensured Lee Camp was by far the busier ‘keeper. As a rule of thumb in a competitive Championship division, the Welshmen had the better recipe for success but it was Forest who deservedly emerged from a fiery encounter with all three points. They moved to second in the process.

Although league position counts for little at this stage, the movement of the Reds into an automatic promotion place could be a sign of what is to come. To call them hard-to-beat is a disservice because Billy Davies’ charges are much better than that, but they simply don’t lose very often and that is a fantastic base to work from in a division, where, paradoxically, everybody seems to beat everybody else.

The ‘l’ word (along with the aforementioned ‘p’ word) simply does not exist at the City Ground, where Forest are unbeaten at home this campaign. The play-off defeat against Blackpool remains their only home defeat since September 2009 and although it came at the worst possible moment, the extra season in the second tier might help Davies’ men come the final reckoning this term.

Can not going up be a blessing in disguise? It won’t be for Dave Jones’ men this season because you don’t splash out half of Craig Bellamy’s £90,000 a week wages to settle for second best. But Davies experienced the cruelty of the Premier League when going up prematurely with Derby a few years ago (he was sacked, Derby left with the worst ever record) and Forest probably weren’t ready last year. They are now.

They have a nice blend of youth and experience and a strong spine. Robbie Earnshaw will always get you goals, Paul McKenna and Saturday’s outstanding performer Chris Cohen form a midfield base and Wes Morgan and the ever-improving Luke Chambers are damn hard to get past. Even if you do, you’re then faced with Camp, and Cardiff’s only route past the custodian was through a hotly-disputed penalty on 64 minutes.

Camp made two terrific saves in each half to ensure Forest’s care in possession did not go to waste. In the first half he denied Bellamy with a good save and Jay Bothroyd with an even better one. In the second, he made a marvellous stop to deny Seyi Olifinjana before Peter Whittingham’s spot-kick and a super reaction block to deny dangerous sub Jay Emmanuel-Thomas moments after the former Villa man equalised.

When you also consider Paul Konchesky cleared one of his own line in the first half to deny Bellamy, it was hard to dispute Camp’s man-of-the-match award or the fact that Jones cursed that his side left Nottingham with nothing. If you watched the highlights package you’d be inclined to agree with both of the above statements but for those who watched the full 90 minutes it was a different story.

It was a well-deserved win for Forest, who did not crumble in the face of their expensively-assembled opponents and were far better on the ball despite their lack of clear-cut opportunities. Cardiff broke with pace and gusto (when Jon Parkin wasn’t involved) and had more chances and corners but the hosts made the most of what they had. That point was emphasised when Morgan bulleted home a first-half header from one of their set-plays.

And although Camp had worked damn hard for his champagne from the sponsors, I picked out an unsung player for my MOTM. Cohen was brilliant; he passed the ball well, unsettled the opposition and generally demonstrated why he is one of Davies’ most trusted employees. In one particular passage of play he tackled, almost won the ball, challenged again to make sure and then passed to a colleague. It sounds simple but is the sort of stuff that gets everyone going on a tense afternoon.

McKenna, in his typically under-stated way, kept things ticking over too. His challenge on Olifinjana for the penalty looked perfectly timed but Jon Moss, who had the air of a teacher who couldn’t control his pupils, thought otherwise. The break got a sizeable visiting contingent going and had Emmanuel-Thomas’ swerving effort beaten Camp shortly afterwards, the outcome could have been different.

But Forest regained composure and the home support, who got behind their team throughout, saw their side regain the lead following a trademark Earnshaw finish. To sum up Moss’ poor afternoon, he almost booked Dekel Keinan for a second time after a foul in the build-up to the winner which was clearly committed by full-back Paul Quinn.

Although nothing has ever been decided in February, this result could affect the momentum of both clubs and to me, provided a great insight into their psyche. Forest play with joy – and, perhaps more importantly, without fear – and generally keep chalking on the points (the midweek defeat at Scunthorpe was their first since November). Cardiff, meanwhile, had the look of a side who is bogged down with the weight of expectation.

They are also prone to defeat given the quality in their squad. Nine is already too many and they can ill-afford a tenth against in-form Leicester City tomorrow night. Forest have an equally difficult home game with Preston. On paper, it is a home banker, but those games where you are expected to win can pose the most problems. Complacency will not be an issue though as Davies knows the Lilywhites well from a lengthy spell in charge and the Scunny setback will have been a timely reminder of what can happen in the division.

Forest have a tough run-in from March onwards but if they continue to enjoy their football and look at it as a chase to leaders QPR rather than a look-over-the-shoulder job to the chasing pack, I fancy them to go up automatically. If they go into games against their rivals in second place, it is undoubtedly a psychological advantage. But Davies won’t let them look beyond PNE, and that is the right attitude; if not a little boring!

He certainly owed Camp a pint or two of orange squash after Saturday’s success because although I enjoyed watching Cohen, Forest would have lost without the GK’s brilliance. Still, a busy game could be ideal preparation for the ‘keeper before he starts his international career with Northern Ireland in due course. If he thought Saturday was tough, he ain’t seen nothing yet judging by NI’s recent performance against Scotland.