Latest Nottingham Forest news as Ange Postecoglou’s Reds beaten 1-0 by Sunderland at the City Ground
Nottingham Forest head coach Ange Postecoglou on the City Ground touchline against Sunderland(Image: Getty)
Ange Postecoglou refused to pin the blame for Nottingham Forest’s 1-0 defeat to Sunderland on a ‘poor decision’ from referee Tony Harrington.
Instead, the Reds head coach argued his team should have dealt with the situation better as soon as the visitors were controversially awarded a free-kick. He was also left to rue a lack of ruthlessness up front as his search for a first win since taking charge continued.
Forest had been left fuming just before the break at the City Ground as they felt Nicolas Dominguez, on his return from injury, had been fouled by Trai Hume. But the free-kick went against the Argentine and he was booked for simulation, before Omar Alderete rubbed salt in the hosts’ wound when he headed in from the set-piece.
VAR checked for a potential offside and the Reds protested Neco Williams had been fouled as the ball was put in. But the goal stood and dominance in possession was not converted into goals by Postecoglou’s men.
“It was a whole range of decisions from the officials, from awarding and then some holding in the box,” Postecoglou said of the winner. “But I still think we were way too lax in our determination to keep the ball out of the net.
“I just thought it was a really disappointing goal to concede, particularly in a game where we were pretty much in control. It’s not a game where Matz Sels has made a lot of saves and kept them out.
“Frustrating. Disappointing. It’s another game we have allowed to get away from us, where really we should be very comfortably overcoming (the opposition).
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“We controlled the game pretty well. It was a really poor goal we conceded, albeit after a poor decision, I thought, from the official. But it was a really poor goal and we had plenty of time to rectify that.
“We certainly created enough opportunities in the second half, and even in the first half. But at the moment, we’re not ruthless enough in terms of taking advantage of the dominance we have and turning it into wins rather than what’s happened in the last four or five games.”
Quizzed on whether he felt Dominguez had dived, Postecoglou replied: “I just thought play on, play on. But that’s the referee’s decision.
“There’s nothing to say to him (Dominguez). I didn’t think there was anything in it. Irrespective, even if the referee has made an absolute high howler, we can still deal with the free-kick better.
“We have to park that to one side. What we did after that is more of a concern to me than the decision.”
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