sport news Nottingham Forest 1-1 Wolves: Daniel Podence snatches late equaliser trends now
Now all Steve Cooper can do is wait. Nottingham Forest’s under-pressure manager desperately needed a victory to persuade the club hierarchy to back him once more but Daniel Podence’s late equaliser for Wolves leaves everything up in the air.
In a match blighted by a brawl between the benches that saw Forest assistant Alan Tate and Wolves No2 Pablo Sanz red-carded, Forest led through Brennan Johnson’s goal late in the first half and wasted many more chances to make the game safe.
They were punished when substitute Podence scored with seven minutes left, though the Portuguese was perhaps lucky to escape a red card following a heated tussle with Cheikhou Kouyate.
Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis backed Cooper in October after a 4-0 thrashing at Leicester and must now decide whether to do so again. It comes down to a simple question: after spending £160million on transfers, does Marinakis think Cooper can keep Forest up? If not, it is hard to be optimistic for his long-term prospects.
Forest travel to Leeds on Tuesday before facing a fearsome run of fixtures featuring Brighton, Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool.
Wolves snatched a draw at Nottingham Forest on Saturday after a late goal from Daniel Podence
Forest had led the game since Brennan Johnson's first half strike before Wolves equalised in the 89th minute
Forest fans showed Cooper and owner Evangelos Marinakis, who took his seat in the stands, exactly what they think of their manager by bellowing his name before kick-off and in the early part of the game.
After a run of six games without a win, it seemed exactly what the team needed as they can began brightly, with Morgan Gibbs-White heavily involved against his old club.
The playmaker set up Johnson early on for a fierce drive that was turned over and though Wolves were being pinned back, they could always threaten at the right time. Toti Gomes’ cross from the left made it all the way through to Adama Traore, forcing Harry Toffolo into a vital block.
At the other end, Nelson Semedo did well to stop efforts from Emmanuel Dennis and Toffolo at source. During the same move, Forest had appealed for a penalty when Dennis’ cross hit Semedo’s hand but the request was correctly turned down.
Moments later, Wolves came desperately close to the opener when Matheus Nunes crossed and as Moussa Niakhate tried to get there before Matheus Cunha, he headed against his own bar. Forest were wobbling for the first time and Semedo wasted an excellent crossing position by driving into the arms of Keylor Navas, before Nunes nearly seized on a mix-up between Navas and Neco Williams.
Johnson made a tricky finish look finish as he scored through the keeper's legs from a tight angle
Podence's equaliser came after a Pedro Neto shot was deflected into the winger's path
The late blow for Forest seemed inevitable after they squandered a number of
