The honours and points were shared after a lively 0-0 encounter between Nottingham Forest and QPR, on a cold windy night at Forest’s City Ground on Tuesday 26th January.
The home team, missing key players such as Henri Lansbury and Matty Fryatt, were unable to repeat their fortunes from the weekend’s 1-0 win away at title-chasing Middlesborough. In an entertaining game despite the lack of goals, chances were created at both ends of the pitch, with veteran keeper Dorus de Vries keeping out Alejandro Faurlin’s impressive free kick in the second half.
The Reds came close to securing a win when QPR’s goalkeeper Alex Smithies pushed out Michael Mancienne’s header from close range. Forest did have 5 shots on target to QPR’s 4, but a lack of cutting edge in the final third was evident from both teams, with both keepers impressing. As a result, the home side were unable to replicate their 1-0 win over QPR in the FA Cup third round a few weeks ago.
“The honours and points were shared after a lively 0-0 encounter between Nottingham Forest and QPR”
The match ended with a chorus of boos from the home crowd, who believe the game to have been a missed opportunity in the Reds’ quest to make the play-offs. The result leaves Nottingham Forest in 11th, with QPR in 13th position in the Sky Bet Championship. Forest manager Dougie Freedman will be pleased to see their unbeaten run extended to 13 games, but will be disappointed that it has also included seven draws.
Coincidentally, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink has had a sluggish start to his tenure as QPR boss, securing only one win in 11 attempts after being appointed as Chris Ramsey’s permanent successor. This may suggest QPR to be slipping in the race for promotion, leading those to believe a mid-table finish will instead define their season.
Both sides will indeed have aspirations of reaching the play-offs but the task in hand will be difficult. Losing Charlie Austin for a bargain £4 million to Southampton may dent QPR’s quest for promotion, and Forest’s transfer embargo means the East Midlands club will have a quiet January whilst other teams strengthen their squads in a bid to make it to the Premier League.
Andrey Prikazchikov
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