Report: Palace suffer defeat at Forest

Summary:

• Two changes for Palace after international break: Hughes and Kamada start.
• 5: Eze bends narrowly wide of the top-left corner.
• 15: Henderson denies Anderson after weaving run, and Wood twice goes close.
• 20: Nketiah’s swerving effort from distance hits the outside of the post for Palace.
• 22: Forest come close as Yates’ header bounces back off the woodwork.
• 44: Eagles finish the half strongly.
• 45+2: Wood diverts ball goalwards from close range, but fails to make clean contact.
• HT: Nottingham Forest 0-0 Palace
• 53: Eze’s half-volley is kept out by Sels.
• 54: Nketiah’s solo run sets up Hughes, whose shot is blocked.
• 60: Sels palms Eze’s brilliant 30-yard effort onto the bar.
• 65 – GOAL: Wood’s low half-volley finds the bottom corner.
• 70: Henderson stands tall to kick away Anderson’s low effort.
• 81: Sels turns Schlupp’s curler around the post as Palace push late on.
• 88: 18-year-old Agbinone makes senior competitive debut in closing stages.
• FT: Nottingham Forest 1-0 Palace

The Eagles started brightly at the City Ground, and came close to taking the lead with little over five minutes on the clock.

Eddie Nketiah won the ball high and fed Ebere Eze, who drove towards the backpedalling Forest defenders. Opening up his body, Eze curled an effort from 25 yards narrowly wide of the top-left corner, clipping the stanchion behind the goal.

Momentum shifted rapidly between the two sides. Forest’s Elliot Anderson somehow weaved between four Palace players before, off-balance, shovelling an effort towards goal; Dean Henderson, on his return to the City Ground, did well to turn it behind.

From the resulting corner, Chris Wood pounced on a flick-on and saw his header kept out by a combination of Henderson and Jefferson Lerma on the line. The ball came back in and Wood, diving to meet the cross, headed wide from a good position.

It was proving an end-to-end contest – both sides enjoying some seven shots each inside the opening 25 minutes – and neither could have come much closer to scoring on the 20-minute mark.

Palace went first: Nketiah picked up a loose ball in the centre circle, drove forwards and hit a superb effort from long distance. Agonisingly, as the effort swerved away from goal, it clipped the outside of the post before sailing behind.

Forest responded in kind; good work from Trevoh Chalobah saw him snuff out a cross aimed for Wood, but from the resulting corner, Palace half-cleared, Alex Moreno headed back into the area, and Ryan Yates produced a looping header which beat Henderson – but not the far post – before bouncing clear.

Shooting opportunities slowed after that initial flurry as proceedings became more scrappy, but Palace finished the half strongly as Eze, Hughes and Maxence Lacroix all saw efforts blocked from the edge of the box.

But the last opportunity of the half fell to Forest, Anderson curling in a pinpoint cross which Wood met on the stretch – in doing so, however, he took all the pace off the ball, allowing Henderson to gather with ease.

Buoyed by a vociferous home support, Forest started the second-half quicker – but Palace continued to threaten and, when Daniel Muñoz’s high ball in was flicked on by Nketiah, Eze – lingering behind him – struck a half-volley first-time towards goal which Sels spilled. Kamada was offside from the follow-up.

Moments later, a stepover from Nketiah took the No. 9 past Moreno on the far touchline, and he picked out Hughes well with a low pull-back – only for Murillo to get across his path and block the strike.

It was proving a match of close margins for Palace, who struck the woodwork again on the hour mark; from a deep free-kick, Hughes squared for Eze, whose wonderful swerving effort from 30 yards needed Sels, at full tilt, to palm it onto the bar and over.

But for all of Palace’s effort, it was Forest and Wood who struck first blood on 65 minutes. A long ball forwards was headed away by Chalobah, but the Forest forward fired a fierce low effort which crept agonisingly past Henderson, who’d got a hand to it.

The goal gave Forest renewed confidence, and after a clever link-up between Wood and Anderson, the latter – striding forward from midfield – forced Henderson into a smart save with his trailing leg.

Glasner responded by introducing Jeffrey Schlupp, Ismaila Sarr and Jean-Philippe Mateta from the bench – and all three were heavily involved in the closing stages.

Some neat one-touch passing around the box broke down but Mateta charged down the clearance, playing it back for Schlupp who dug a curling finish out of his feet; Sels, so often Palace’s nemesis, somehow sprung across to turn it around the post.

Amidst that frustration, there was to be a proud moment for the Eagles, with 18-year-old winger Asher Agbinone becoming our latest Academy graduate, making his senior debut for the final few minutes of regulation time.

The youngster enjoyed a lively cameo after the fourth official indicated seven minutes of additional time – but despite a late headed chance for Mateta, Forest held firm, and Palace were left frustrated.

Forest: Sels (GK), Aina, Milenković, Murillo, Moreno (Morato, 78), Yates, Domínguez, Elanga, Anderson (Williams, 78), Hudson-Odoi (Sosa, 84), Wood (Awoniyi, 84).

Subs: Miguel (GK), Boly, Omabamidele, Toffolo.

Palace: Henderson (GK), Chalobah, Guéhi, Lacroix, Mitchell (Schlupp, 74), Lerma, Hughes (Sarr, 74), Muñoz, Eze, Nketiah (Mateta, 66), Kamada (Agbinone, 88).

Subs: Turner (GK), Ward,, Clyne, Wharton, Kporha.

As It Happened