Second half comeback helps Preston to final day victory over Forest

Preston North End rounded off their Championship season with a fourth consecutive victory, coming from behind to defeat Nottingham Forest 2-1 at the City Ground.

In what was a match which would have no consequences to their fortunes it proved to be very exciting. From the off, both sides showed they wanted to end the season with a victory.

Each had very good very chances to open the scoring in the opening 10 minutes. First Forest’s Ryan Yates attempted one from 30 yards out, which swerved just wide of the post.

For the away side, Greg Cunningham played a delightful cross into the box which found the head of Ched Evans who beat Reds keeper Brice Samba to the ball. It did leave the Striker with an open net to score from, but his attempt had gone just over.

Evans would go on to have some influence the result, but from that miss, it would be Forest who would go on to dictate the play of the rest of the first half.

And just after the quarter of an hour mark, Chris Hughton’s men opened the scoring. Yuri Ribeiro drove the ball down the left hand side and knocked it to Filip Krovinovic. He had looked like he was trying to pick out the two strikers of Lewis Grabban and Lyle Taylor in the penalty area, but with numbers back for North End, he laid it off to James Garner, who took a touch and like his teammate Yates went for a long range effort, which beautifully swerved past keeper Daniel Iverson into the top corner of the net.

Anthony Knockaert had two really good chances to double Forest’s advantage, the first of which was moments after they scored. The ball was fizzed in from the edge of the area which the Frenchman attempted to meet, however it had just fallen behind him.

Then with ten minutes before the break, Knockaert picked the ball up, drove inside from the wing, and made it a hat-trick of Forest attempts from outside the area, but once again it swerved just wide of the Preston net.

But Forest would have the ball in the net for a second before halftime, but it was disallowed. The Reds won a corner which was taken by Garner, it eventually found Taylor who thought he had poked it home, but it was pulled back a free-kick, after Joe Worrall committed a foul in the build up.

So the hosts went into the break a goal to the good, and once again came close to a second just five minutes into the second half. After Knockaert disposed a Preston man, he then led a counter attack in which he had both Grabban and Krovinovic as option. Knockaert tried to release the Striker, but the pass was a little too far ahead of him to reach.

Krovinovic was there though to collect the ball, he hadn’t scored a goal at the City Ground, since his loan move from Benfica in January, and though he had Grabban and Cyrus Christie as options he decided to go for goal, but unfortunately for him it went narrowly wide.

It was a golden chance for the hosts and in truth it would come back to bite them, Preston would turn the game on its head. With Evans somewhat of a focal point in it.

In the 53rd minute, the visitors equalised in what was a well worked goal. The ball was played forward to Evans, who decided to act a dummy. It was a very intelligent piece of play as it allowed former Manchester City and Celtic, Scott Sinclair in behind the Forest defence. He squared it across to Tom Bayliss, who finished from two yards.

Forest did have good really good chances to respond. The first was on the hour mark when Grabban was put through on goal by Christie. One on one with Iverson, the Forest no.7 attempted to chip him, however he was denied, in what proved to be a comfortable save for the keeper.

Moments later Lyle Taylor then went for goal himself, after he was laid off by the Serbian midfielder Krovinovic, but his effort had bent just wide off the far right hand post.

But it would be the away side who would get the next, and eventually winning goal of the game. Bayliss sprayed it wide to Evans, who headed the ball into the area and found centre-half Liam Lindsay who headed home. It was a goal sparked by controversy, the linesman has originally put his flag up in the build up to North End’s second, however it was overruled by referee Darren Bond.

Preston did have a chance just a minute later to add a third a minute later when on-loan Liverpool youngster Sepp Van Den Berg played it long to Evans, however his shot was denied by a really good save by Samba.

Ultimately it was the last big chance of the match. Both sides struggled to make any chances after Lindsay’s goal, meaning that Preston North End end the season with four straight wins.

It’s a big Summer for both sides, Nottingham Forest and Chris Hughton will be looking to write the 2020/21 season off as a blip and look to put together a squad that can challenge for the playoffs.

Meanwhile Preston are in the hunt for a new manager after Alex Neill’s departure from the club in March. They were unable to put together a challenge for the top six this season and they too will be looking to strengthen their squad, which can help them fight for a top six spot.

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