Nottingham Forest denied by late Reading equaliser - again

Just 11 days after Tobias Figueiredo’s 97th minute own goal had cancelled out Ben Watson’s 96th minute opener, Forest again took a late lead against Reading, only to be pegged back even later.

This time, it was Lewis Grabban opening the scoring on 80th minute, sliding in Sammy Ameobi’s wayward shot at the far post, before, three minutes’ later, Royals substitute Sam Baldock was given time to turn and squeeze his shot under Forest goalkeeper Brice Samba and just over the line.

It was disappointing, frustrating and oh so expected. It was oh so Forest.

Three days earlier, Forest had defied expectations, to win at home to the bottom club in front of the TV cameras. A game so often before the Reds have contrived to lose, a game many long-time Forest fans, pessimists to the core, had tipped struggling Luton Town to win.

Defying the doom-mongers had raised the level of expectation around the visit of Reading to the City Ground, just 11 days after the teams met in Berkshire.

Rewind three months and Reading were on a run on one win in eight games and struggling at the wrong end of the table, while Forest were eighth, albeit just two points of second.

However, heavy rain on Trentside put paid to Forest’s hopes of three points as the match was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch, leading to the new January date.

Ever since, the cliched game in hand had given Forest fans false hope, the temptation to add three points to promotion-chasing Forest’s Championship total hard to resist, putting the Reds higher up the table and closer to breakaway leaders West Brom and Leeds.

But the top two have faltered and the Reds went into the game – against a resurgent Reading with one defeat in their last 10 games – knowing a win would put them back in the mix for automatic promotion, just two points behind second-placed Leeds, who head to the City Ground themselves in a couple of weeks.

But this is Forest. And it is the hope that hurts.

Reds manager Sabri Lamouchi made one change to the starting line-up which had beaten Luton, with Sammy Ameobi replacing Albert Adomah, although the matchday 18 was unchanged, meaning no place for new loan signing Adama Diakhaby.

And Forest produced a much-improved opening 45 minutes than against the Hatters. With Joe Lolley, buoyed by his weekend brace, at the heart of things, Forest probed a Reading team who, after a bright opening 10 minutes, were content to sit back and invite Forest on.

In truth though, for all their pretty passing and possession, Forest struggled to break down the massed ranks of the Reading defence, with Lolley’s low effort from outside of the break forcing the only save of note from Rafael.

The Royals looked bright on the break and Forest keeper Brice Samba was called on a couple of occasions, providing one excellent stop to claw away Jordan Obita’s drive as the first half finished goalless.

Reading started the brightest in the second half, but Forest weathered the storm and began to assert their control, but too often the final pass was lacking against a resolute Royals rearguard.

The longer the game went on, the more anxious you could sense the 26,000 home fans were becoming.

And you could feel the tension release when Grabban finally broke the deadlock with 10 minutes to go.

Just like you could feel the crushing disappointment three minutes later when Baldock equalised.

It wasn’t a great match to watch. Reading came with a game plan and executed it almost perfectly. Forest huffed and puffed but just couldn’t find that clear chance. They looked leggy.Despite the large squad, Forest boss Sabri Lamouchi has stuck to the same 20-or-so core players in and around his squad for much of the season. Maybe that is catching up on them.

The January transfer window is becoming more and more important – and not just for Forest – by the day.

Forest: Samba; Cash, Ribeiro, Worrall, Dawson; Watson, Sow (Carvalho, 61), Silva; Lolley (Adomah, 89), Ameobi, Grabban. Subs not used: Smith, Jenkinson, Chema, Yates, Semedo.