The City Ground, home of Nottingham Forest based in Nottinghamshire and play their trade in the second tier of English football in the Championship. The first football league ground I ever went to! Back in 2003 when I was 8 years old and my Uncle took me to visit the Reds. In the days of Darren Huckerby, Marlon Harewood, Andy Reid, David Johnson and Michael Dawson managed by Paul Hart, the first game I ever saw was a 4-0 win over Norwich City. Sadly for Forest though they went on to lose to Sheffield United in the play-offs at the end of that season…
My second visit was a pre-season friendly against Ajax! That game saw Forest come from 2-0 to draw level at 2-2. The third was in 2006 when Forest were in League One up against Yeovil Town, 1-0 down, Forest won that one 2-1. My fourth and last visit was a 4-0 win against Chesterfield in League One at the start of the 2006/07 season. I do have a soft spot for this club and would love to see them back in the Premier League one day! They take on another Premier League old boy tonight in Blackburn Rovers.
Train into Nottingham with 2 hours to spare, time for some fuel! The Oldest Inn in England is calling! I wonder what they drank in here back in the day!?
Now for the walk to the ground. £27 to watch this Championship tie! Not too shabby! A first time in the Trent End for me tonight! The players walk out and here comes the famous Mull of Kintyre! “CIIIIITY GROUND! OH MIST ROLLING IN FROM THE TRENT! MY DESIRE IS ALWAYS TO BE HERE! OH CITY GROUND! YOOOOOUUUUUUUU REDDDDDDSSS!” Beautiful from the Forest fans!
Kick Off! “Come on you reds!” Forest fans in the Bridgford stand are going for it! 5 minutes in and Forest come forward down the left, played to Philip Zinckernagel, 25 yards out and he shoots… Good hand there from the Blackburn keeper! “YOU REDS!” From the Trent End!
8 minutes now and Forest come forward again, the ball is played to Alex Mighten on the left, he cuts inside on the edge of the box and goes for goal… Just wide! “YOU REDS!” Again from the Trent End!
“Nottingham Nottingham Nottingham!” Still going strong in the Bridgford stand! 21st minute and Blackburn come forward with Joe Rothwell, he gets past the Forest defence brilliantly and he’s into the box, he pulls it back for John BUCKLEY! Good save by Samba! And now here come Forest as they break down the left… But Blackburn deal with the attack.
The game has fizzled out into nothingness with both teams showing little to break the other team down. Forest fans becoming frustrated with the lack of cutting edge from the Forest attack. 35th minute and here come Blackburn, Tyrhys Dolan gets it and he shoots… Samba parries… Scott McKenna gets there first and is brought down for a Forest free kick. 44th minute and Blackburn come forward again, John Buckley gets to the edge of the box and shoots… Samba saves again! It’s not been the best half and the score line at half time reflects it, 0-0…
Second half, Blackburn win a free kick on the left in a crossing position, in comes the cross… Daniel Ayala is there… He’s scored!! A simple header for Ayala and Blackburn lead here at the City Ground! Can Forest respond?
“Blue white army!” Blackburn fans are setting the tone now! “Carvalho Carvalho Carvalho!” Forest substitute Joao Carvalho warming up to get a good reception from the Forest faithful! 60th minute and it’s a corner for Forest, played short, Alex Mighten gets into the box and fires it low across goal, it’s come to Ryan Yates… He can’t control it and his shot is blocked at the far post. “Red army!” Forest fans still giving it a go!
68 minutes on the clock now and Forest come forward with Lewis Grabban, he plays it to the right for Zinckernagel, he cuts inside on the edge of the box and goes for it… HE’S HIT THE POST AND… IT’S IN!!!!!! It’s 1-1!! Brilliant strike!! And Forest are level here!!
“Forest have magic all around the pitch! All around the pitch!” 76th minute now and Blackburn have a free kick in a good crossing position on the left, in it comes… Forest clear. 82nd minute and Blackburn break forward down the right, they get into the box, it’s pulled back to the edge of the box for John Buckley… Samba saves… And he manages to keep it.
85th minute and Forest give away another free kick in a crossing position for Blackburn, in comes the cross… Samba comes for it… It’s over him and the crowd of players, Blackburn get to it first and cross it back into the middle, here’s Gallagher!! It’s blocked and it comes to Lenihan… He’s done it!!! Samba committed for the previous blocked header and Lenihan heads into the empty net and is that the goal that wins it for Blackburn!?
“Blue white army!” Blackburn fans in fine voice again after that! 89th minute and can Forest snatch an equaliser? They play it across the backline, it comes to Lawrence-Gabriel, he miss controls it and the Blackburn man gets to the loose ball first and he’s brought down by Gabriel… He’s already been booked… He’s going to walk here… Second yellow and he’s off! Is that the final nail in the Forest coffin? Blackburn fans think so! They think they’re going down with the Preston…
“Sabri Lamouchi!” Forest fans now chanting for their previous manager now… Not looking good for Chris Hughton tonight… Into stoppage time and Forest pile on the pressure, they have a free kick on the half way line, it’s lumped into the box… Blackburn deal with it pretty comfortably you have to say… They get to the half way line and they have a free kick themselves now, they lump it forward and the Referee blows for full time.
FT: Nottingham Forest 1-2 Blackburn Rovers
Ratings
- Atmosphere: 8/10 – Mull of Kintyre was deafening!! Love clubs that have their own song at the start! Forest fans got behind their team brilliantly I thought despite the woeful performance and it could easily be rocking with a good display on the day but not tonight sadly. Blackburn fans gave a good account for themselves too!
- The Ground: 10/10 – It’s one of the most iconic grounds in the country! I love this ground! It’s simply glorious!! A proper football ground with lots of character!
- Expense: 8/10 – £27 isn’t too bad, the game did come alive in the second half, 3 goals along with a red card and late drama which I did enjoy! Sadly the poor first half display did cost it extra points.
- Overall Experience: 7/10 – A decent game in the end and I did enjoy the day overall! Would have loved to have seen Forest win though.
33/40
As a Forest fan exiled in Essex (ironically living in Colchester, your last blog) I enjoyed reading this. My first match was 6-1-68, we lost at home 0-3 to Man City. I was at your first match. Sat in the Upper Clough with my son then aged 12.
Very professional blog. I’ll look forward to reading more.
Only joined this page yesterday.
Thank you mate!