Nottingham Forest have made a frustrating start to life under Ange Postecoglou, albeit they will feel hard done by after a controversial defeat to Sunderland on Saturday evening.
Nottingham Forest lose out in tight contest with Sunderland
Balancing commitments domestically and in the Europa League, the Tricky Trees found themselves on the end of a narrow loss to Sunderland at the City Ground on Saturday courtesy of Omar Alderete’s first-half winner.
Admittedly, Nottingham Forest were the dominant side against the Black Cats and created far more on the day. However, Postecoglou has been left with plenty to ponder after making it five games without a win since taking charge.
Hovering just above the relegation slots in the Premier League, the Australian boss made it clear that his side are on the right trajectory despite losing out on a frustrating day in the East Midlands.
He told BBC Sport: “It was one of those evenings where we should’ve got the outcome we wanted. We had enough chances to certainly win the game.
“We conceded a really poor goal, albeit from a poor decision from the official, but after that we had enough chances to win the game. We are in a cycle at the moment where we are getting every outcome out of the game except the win – and that is the most important thing.”
While Nottingham Forest are producing encouraging signs, football is ultimately about winning and supporters will feel that points are an infinitely better outcome than performance, albeit the latter may suggest their long-term future under Postecoglou is looking bright.
Even with that in mind, it would be remiss not to delve into some of the refereeing controversies on show at the City Ground, something that individuals within their camp feel contributed to their defeat.
Neco Williams fumes at officials as Sunderland defeat Nottingham Forest
Speaking after the match on Sky Sports, Neco Williams made it clear that he feels Sunderland’s goal should’ve been ruled out for two reasons, claiming the Black Cats were awarded an unjust free-kick and that he was fouled in the build-up to Alderete’s decisive effort.
The £65,000-a-week full-back also made clear that he has ‘never seen’ such a decision made to award a free-kick during his career, indicating how furious he was at the controversial indicent.
He stated, cited via BBC Sport: “It’s a tough one to take. It was a game where we just didn’t finish off our chances. We created many chances but just couldn’t put it to bed.
“We should have defended the free-kick better but, at the same time, I’ve never seen a referee give one of those free-kicks before in all my time of playing football.
“There was contact, so he got it wrong, and for the goal I was held back. He had two arms around my waist and that played a key factor in their goal. It is two poor decisions, especially by the referee and then the people on VAR.”
In truth, the Welsh international may have a point as he was visibly tugged back in an attempt to stop the ball, albeit supporters will never know if he would’ve covered the ground needed to intercept the situation at hand.
Either way, Nottingham Forest will rue missing a whole host of missed chances, which is something they will hope to use as fuel for their upcoming Europa League encounter against FC Midtjylland on Thursday.
