A frustrating night for Reds fans as Forest stuttered for the first time in the league this season in a match that was all too easy for Oldham.

The team that to be fair has not played their best this season were finally punished for failing to grind up the gears early on. A large part is due to Athletic putting in a workmanlike performance closing down their opponents and looked dangerous when in possession. Forest were unable to control the pace in this home encounter as Oldham kept the ball well in stark contrast to the Reds. The performance was sloppy as passes were misplaced even when not under pressure. The midfield often looked lethargic with its dynamo, Sammy Clingan not performing to his usual standard.

Oldham?s first breakthrough though came from Paul Smith?s second piece of misgoalkeeping this season. Unfortunately for the man who has been outstanding so far between the sticks, it lead to another goal as Porter capitalised upon a save carelessly palmed to his feet. At one nothing down, Forest already had their work cut out as Oldham were quick to close down and had a comfortable grasp on the first half.

Referee Darren Drysdale and his assistants were not endearing themselves to the City Ground faithful as many decisions were given the other way, including an offside when Grant Holt was clearly not. At times the officials looked lost and confused as will be touched on further later, their incompetence clearly not doing Forest any favours.

The goal did little to galvanise the team as they continued to plod along, dark blue shirts buzzing around them industriously. The second goal when it came in stoppage time was not a surprise. A superb cross from Edwards set up Porter another ? an unchallenged nodded header from close range.

Agogo was brought on in the second half, the formation reverting to 343, yet an impressive performance from the new man did little to inspire the rest of the team. It became clear that the rub of the green was not going to go our way when Grant Holt hit the side netting after a one on one with the keeper. The inform striker set up the chance with a superb first touch however he could not keep his cool and in the end missed the target considerably.

With what was by far the best chance of the night not taken Forest then didn?t really look like coming back into the game. Perhaps the highlight of a dour second half showing was the return of Scott Dobie after one year and two days since his last appearance not including a brief comeback in January this year.

The fans not used to seeing their team so far down in a match since, ironically enough Boundary Park, last season became increasingly frustrated. The officials became an easy target for their anger with as bizarre a performance that could be seen so far this season. Perhaps the most glaring example of a poor run of decisions made all evening came when Sammy Clingan was not even penalised for scything an Oldham player from behind, yet Porter was issued a yellow minutes later for a perfectly timed challenge. Late flags from the assistant were also a feature, particularly following a clear Julian Bennett back pass picked up by Smith only noticed upon Oldham protestations. The erratic performance was capped by the addition of six minutes extra time at the end of a second half that had seen no injuries or delays whatsoever.

Athletic though were good value for their first win at the City Ground in seventy three years. Forest?s luck did not run out in this game; they simply came up against a side that were able to take their chances. With the four teams immediately below also dropping all three points this was not a major disaster, although many fans may point out the missed opportunity to go six points clear before a tough run to come against three of those teams.

Calderwood though must have other concerns as this was not the first time the fans have been treated to a wholly lacklustre performance. I refer of course to Accrington Stanley where the team may be accused of perhaps being overconfident but certainly not able to cope when being quickly closed down. Pole position in the league will certainly set us up to play teams who will put us under pressure and therefore if we are to remain where we now find ourselves, this will be something the manager will need to address. It must not be forgotten though; top of the league is unfamiliar territory for the modern day Nottingham Forest.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 13th, 2006 at 8:11 am and is filed under Nottingham Forest. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments. Both comments and pings are currently closed.