Lyle Taylor draws a blank but Forest still secure vital victory

Nottingham Forest secured a much needed victory on Tuesday evening, defeating bottom of the table Sheffield Wednesday 2-0.

Yuri Ribeiro opened the scoring after just four minutes, opening his goal scoring account for the Reds in the making. Lewis Grabban then sealed victory for Chris Hughton’s side with a late strike after coming on as a substitute.

One man who would’ve been hoping to make an impact against the Owls was 30-year-old striker Lyle Taylor. The forward is Forest’s top goal scorer so far this season but, with Lewis Grabban now back from injury, his regular place in the starting eleven is back up for contention. 

His start to the match wasn’t exactly ideal. Taylor engaged in an aerial battle with Owls’ defender Chey Dunkley which ultimately ended with the striker needing treatment.

The game was halted for a moment whilst the former Charlton man made his way off the pitch, fortunately on this occasion it wasn’t long before he was given the all clear and was able to return to play.

Seconds after returning to the field, teammate Alex Mighten had won a free kick on the edge of the Sheffield Wednesday box.

Taylor, stood over the ball, looked poised to challenge Joe Wildsmith in the Owls’ net but ended up seeing his attempt fly well over the crossbar, much to the relief of Tony Pulis. 

The forward then struggled to get involved for the remainder of the half. Dunkley and Tom Lees were making life difficult for him, forcing Taylor to drop deep or venture wide if he was to get any time on the ball.

There was one more chance for the Forest man just before the break as with a slice of luck the ball fell to him amongst a sea of bodies from five yards out. While off balance, Taylor aimed his shot goal bound only for Dunkley to clear his effort off the line.

The second half was even quieter for the striker. In fact, his only involvement of note was just after the hour mark when his attempted cross was blocked, winning a corner for the home side.

Shortly after, his evening was over. With 15 minutes left to play, Taylor was replaced by Grabban, seemingly due to a recurrence of the injury he picked up in the first half.

With a new injury to deal with, and his striking competition Grabban returning with a bang, Taylor may have to once more prove his worth to Reds’ manager Hughton if he’s to maintain his regular spot in the starting eleven.

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