David Johnson makes Nottingham Forest claim amid heavy praise for key individual after West Brom tie | OneFootball

Former Nottingham Forest forward David Johnson believes his former side were the only team who wanted to win last night’s 0-0 draw against West Bromwich Albion, also saving praise for Joe Worrall as he took to Twitter after the game.

Despite both sides having chances to open the scoring, they had to settle for a point each at The Hawthorns with the away team failing to capitalise on their numerical advantage in the last 20 minutes, as they saw Jayson Molumby sent off for an avoidable second bookable offence.

Brennan Johnson came close to getting on the scoresheet in the second half as he ran down the right-hand side and fired a deflected shot that had to be tipped over by Sam Johnstone, but their opponents also had their fair share of chances to win three points.

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Grady Diangana was unlucky not to put the Baggies 1-0 up with his shot being saved by Brice Samba, before Darnell Furlong wasted a gilt-edged as he blazed over from close range.

However, the hosts were down to ten men in the latter stages of the game with midfielder Molumby’s red card, and had to dig in at the end to hold on to a point.

Forest had their own defending to do though – and ex-Reds forward Johnson was particularly complimentary about centre-back Worrall, who put in a series of vital blocks to compensate for a mixed display from his teammates in the final third.

Posting on Twitter last night, the 45-year-old said: “Joe Worrall was outstanding. Good performance and looked like the only team that wanted to win the game.

“Great atmosphere as always. Safe trip home.”

This result keeps Steve Cooper’s men in 13th ahead of today’s round of Championship fixtures, although they could drop down the table if results go against them today with Preston North End, Middlesbrough and Birmingham City all in action.

The Verdict:

Worrall was impressive yesterday evening and showed exactly why he has been the subject of Premier League interest in the past, with his most important moment of the match arguably coming in the second half when he blocked Callum Robinson’s goal-bound shot.

The most impressive thing about the 24-year-old is his consistency, arguably saving the Reds from relegation last season with his defensive prowess to mitigate the effects of his side’s poor attacking record.

He has been superb again recently, helping his side to concede just three goals in their last six league matches alongside the reliable Scott McKenna and this could give Cooper’s side the platform to go on and push for a top-six finish.

In terms of the game in general, Johnson’s verdict is probably slightly harsh considering the good chances West Brom had. Albion may have had less possession, but they did break forward well at times and had more than enough opportunities to take the lead.

Forest may not have been themselves on the night – but they can only improve on that performance and the fact they were able to take something from the game shows how far they have come since the start of the season.