Fulham needed a controversial penalty to claim three points at the City Ground as Mexican striker Raul Jimenez scored for the third consecutive match to secure a 1-0 victory and inflict a first defeat of the season on Nottingham Forest.
On the face of it this was what neutrals might call a dead rubber fixture, but tell that to those in attendance as both Nottingham Forest and Fulham arrived at the City Ground above Man United and Spurs in the Premier League standings and each boasting ambitions to put early pressure on those above them in the chase for European football.
Fast forward from their last May encounter – that saw Forest secure a win that eventually helped keep them in the division – and they arrived at home unbeaten, having claimed a historic victory at Anfield and a chance of sneaking into the top four.
If home supporters needed a spark to get them off their seats then Taiwo Awoniyi’s early show of strength to brush Fulham defender Antonee Robinson off the ball in the opening exchanges provided that as the City Ground celebrated winning a corner like they had just scored.
The Forest striker doesn’t fit the typical modern day build of an Erling Haaland or Gabriel Jesus, instead his frame matches the old school suit of a Wayne Rooney figure and his acrobatic attempt in the 19th minute almost recreated the former Man United striker’s legendary finish, only to drop just wide.
There was an early fluidity to Forest’s play that Fulham struggled to cope with as the host’s showed attacking variation to create on the counter-attack, ping passes through the middle and at times go long to Awoniyi who possesses the physicality to match any of the Premier League’s centre forwards.
His strike partner, Chris Wood, then thought he had put Forest ahead by tapping in a header back across the face of goal only to be shown correctly offside in the 25th minute.
Fulham finally mounted their first attack not long after that with Alex Iwobi reversing a pass through Forest’s box that Premier League veteran Raul Jimenez reacted quickest to only for his tame effort to settle into the hands of Matz Sels as Marco Silva’s side struggled to get going with usual creators Emile Smith-Rowe and Andreas Pereira largely negated out the game.
Both competitors battled to take the lead on approach to halftime with the home side looking the more convincing in attack and only denied an opening goal through scrappy last-man defending as Fulham threw bodies on the line and Forest just lacking the composure needed in such crowded situations.
Weak shouts for two quick penalties came from Forest fans on the stroke of the halfway stage as Awoniyi and Wood hit the deck in the same attack. Both were quickly told to get up and rightly so as proceedings remained goalless at the interval.
Nuno Espirito Santos made changes for the visit of Fulham, Morgan Gibbs-White enforced after being sent off against Brighton last time out, but also choosing to relegate attacking stars Anthony Elanga and Callum Hudson-Odoi to the bench as both were given a rest after a heavy run of minutes. Elanga was only given a 45 minute rest with him making his introduction in favour of Awoniyi.
Then came Fulham’s claim that this time did stick as Pereira went down in the box, VAR took a look and a quick pitchside review determined that a spot-kick should be awarded. Murillo and the entire City Ground protested his innocence but a clear push regardless of the power behind it gives officials an easy decision to make and ultimately this was a costly mistake for Forest to concede.
A tepid scrap amongst Fulham’s forwards over who would take the penalty ensued before JImenez took control and the Mexican made no mistake from the spot as his shot crept inside the post.
Finally this match had some real spark as Espirito Santo made a double-change with both Hudson-Odoi and Jota Silva making their introductions and immediately causing problem amongst Fulham’s defence. Three quick attacks should have resulted in an equaliser, most notably Hudson-Odoi brilliantly skipping past three defenders inside the box before blasting his shot over the bar in the 63rd minute. A poor finish.
The same attack prompted Forest shouts for their own penalty with Elanga going down after being clipped by Calvin Bassey as the centre-back tried to clear the ball. There was contact but the former Man United star had jumped into the movement of Bassey’s swinging foot and VAR correctly allowed play to continue.
If there is one complaint of Forest’s blossoming and young squad then it is their game-management. As tempers rose amongst Forest fans, they also flared on the pitch and desperation turned to sloppiness in contrast to a composed Fulham who did the simple things well and showed all their experience to run the clock down.
Two VAR checks, countless offsides and regular fouls in the second-half resulted in eight minutes of time being added on. A solo run from Elanga to get on the end of a lobbed pass forward and a hopeful Bassey shot from range provided rare glimpses of changing the scoreline.
Forest recorded their highest home attendance in over a decade at 30,139 supporters for the visit of Fulham, but this was a match that eventually proved to be the crack in their unbeaten shell.
