Brice Samba comments on his methods in Nottingham Forest’s penalty shootout against Sheffield United | OneFootball

Last night was a brilliant display of football from both Nottingham Forest and Sheffield United but the standout man was undoubtedly the Forest goalkeeper Brice Samba.

Despite going into the game with the disadvantage after a 2-1 loss in the first leg, Sheffield United fought back after going 1-0 down last night to make it 2-1 [3-3 on aggregate] and take the game to extra time.

Neither side could find a goal in the added 30 minutes which meant the game was set to be decided on penalties.

Brice Samba had a brilliant game all evening making some crucial saves to keep his side in the game but his quality was shown as he stepped up to save the penalties of Oliver Norwood, Conor Hourihane and Morgan Gibbs-White, meaning his side won the game 3-2 on penalties.

The win means Nottingham Forest now have to prepare themselves for a trip to Wembley where they will meet Huddersfield Town to battle for promotion to the Premier League.

Quiz: Can you name which club Nottingham Forest sold these 23 players to from the last decade?

1 of 23

Chris Gunter?

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A photo emerged on social media last night of the goalkeeper’s water bottle which had paper stuck on it with instructions for all of Sheffield United’s penalty takers showing his preparation for the game.

Responding to a message from a fan on twitter pointing out that it was a good job the opposition didn’t see the water bottle before the penalty shootout, Samba responded by saying: “It was hidden in a towel until I got to the post”

The Verdict:

Samba put on an excellent goalkeeping display throughout the 90 minutes but the preparation from him shows just how much of a professional he is.

Furthermore, by making sure the opposition would not see the bottle is a show of how planned Samba was and the preparation he put into the game was definitely reflected through his performance.

Although Gibbs-White’s penalty was a poor one, to be able to save three penalties convincingly in a shootout is a clear display that research ahead of such things can be helpful.

Furthermore, the fact Samba went to the effort to do so shows his willingness to deal with each eventuality and in the end, helped his side get an important victory.