It seemed, for the briefest of moments, that it was finally Vítor Pereira and Nottingham Forest’s day. Dan Ndoye, the half-time substitute, had burst into the area after the hour-mark and sidefooted perfectly, prompting an explosion of relief at the City Ground.
But the joy at taking the lead against Fulham was swiftly snuffed out as the goal was disallowed by the video assistant referee, denying a side that has struggled so much with the final touch all season. Pereira’s excruciating run continues, still waiting for his first Premier League victory this campaign. He has just four points from his 14 matches in charge of Wolves and Forest.
For now, Forest will have to look on the bright side. A draw took them out of the bottom three, but only goal difference is keeping them above West Ham. They can’t just rely on Tottenham’s ongoing meltdown.
Both sides entered in a downbeat mood. Forest went down 1-0 against Midtjylland in the Europa League on Thursday; Fulham spurned the opportunity of reaching an FA Cup quarter-final with their defeat by Southampton last Sunday. Marco Silva’s teams find themselves in a familiar place: milling around mid-table, falling just short of a serious cup adventure, still waiting for a return to Europe.
