Key events
Full-time: Wolves 0-3 Nottingham Forest
That is Forest’s sixth win in a row!
GOAL! Wolves 0-3 Nottingham Forest (Awoniyi 90+4)
Nottingham Forest score from … you’ll never guess … from a counter attack. Milenkovic clears wildly and Forest stream up the pitch. A pass finds Ward-Prowse, who squares calmly to Awoniyi, who taps into an empty net! It’s three!
90+2 min: Nothing to report, sadly. Wolves have possession but are not threatening. Forest fans ask Nuno to give them a wave, and the manager duly obliges.
90 min: Four minutes added on. Wolves fans are beginning to leave their seats. They have seen enough.
89 min: Awoniyi almost scores with his first touch. Murillo lumps a hopeful clearance into the heavens, Doherty fails to deal with the bounce and limply heads back towards his keeper. Awoniyi is onto it in a flash and toe pokes his shot through the legs of the onrushing José Sa, with the ball trickling just wide!
88 min: Forest seem content to bring off arguably their two best players: Morgan Gibbs-White and Chris Wood. Taiwo Awoniyi and James Ward-Prowse come on.
87 min: Wolves have a few problems but are simply not committing enough men forward.
85 min: A brief VAR check, as Yates clatters into Strand Larsen’s head in the Forest area with some flailing arms. It was clumsy rather than cynical. No penalty.
83 min: Corner to Wolves, dealt easily by Forest. This is becoming a trend. That was Wolves’ 25th cross of the night.
82 min: Wolves are in a quandary. Forest are defending deep so there is rarely any space between the lines. Wolves do not have the numbers or the aerially dominant players to win headers from crosses into the box. The hosts need a slice of luck, perhaps from a set piece, or a long-range effort.
80 min: A rare lull in this exciting game, which will suit Forest just fine.
76 min: You have to say that Forest are managing this game magnificently. The visitors are happy to defend deep and seem to win everything that comes into their box aerially. With the ball, they still look a threat on the counter-attack, although that will be slightly curbed now that Elanga is now off the pitch.
74 min: Further changes for Wolves: Pablo Sarabia and Carlos Forbs for Hwang Hee-chan and Goncalo Guedes.
72 min: Jota Silva makes an almost instant impact off the bench. The Forest wide man is first to a loose ball and volleys an audacious cross to the back post, where Hudson-Odoi is just unable to get his head on the ball properly. The bounce deceived him.
70 min: “Thomas Tuchel is seated right behind Robert Plant in the stands,” emails Tim Smith. “I have Tom as a Zep fan?”
“Cue joke about Kloppo = heavy metal, Tuchel = noodly prog soloing here” quips Oliver Beige.
68 mins: More subs, this time from Forest: Jota Silva and Ryan Yates come on for Elliot Anderson and Anthony Elanga.
66 min: Forest are nearly undone by their own strategy as Wolves fly forward on the counter attack. Guedes carries the ball a full 50 yards, squares the ball to Strand Larsen and the big Norwegian strikes fiercely at goal from 20 yards out. Sels makes an excellent save at his near post, particularly as replays show that the shot got a slight deflection on its way through.
64 min: This is increasingly a game of crosses. Wolves are next to try their luck as Ait-Nouri reaches the byline on the left, but again nobody is there to tap the ball in at the back post. Wolves need to commit more bodies into the box if they are going to continue with this tactic, particularly as Forest now have three centre-backs on the field.
62 min: Chance for Anderson! A very similar opportunity to Forest’s opener, as Elanga turns on the burners on the right wing before cutting the ball back to the penalty spot, where Anderson sidefoots at goal. A block from Doherty sends the ball behind, though.
60 min: A flurry of substitutions: Wolves bring on Mario Lemina (for his first appearance since the Gary O’Neil era) and Bellegarde for Pedro Lima and Tommy Doyle.
Forest also make a sub which means a change of shape: Morato, a centre-back for Dominguez, who was booked. Nuno is signalling that means Forest will change to five at the back, with Aina and Williams as wing backs.
58 min: Goncalo Guedes is operating as a sort of No 8/No 10 hybrid tonight, but it’s clear he’s not really cut out for central midfield. Guedes is a fine player on his day, but he’s a wide player at heart. The Portuguese has his pocket picked by Dominguez and flattens the Argentinian, and picks up a yellow card.
55 min: Wolves press forward and Forest so nearly repeat the counter-attack trick, with Aina flying forward from right back at absurd speed. Elanga was screaming for a through ball but Ait Nouri got a crucial block in and Joao Gomes tidied things up nicely.
53 min: This is a message for Miguel, a lifelong Wolves fan who I’m told is reading this MBM and has a big day on Thursday. Keep going, pal. And it sounds from an email I have received that you have a wonderful set of family and friends, including Jared, Magnus and Sarah.
51 min: Wolves have a corner. Easily cleared. A reminder that the hosts only have one centre back on the pitch and aren’t particularly blessed with height. Only Liverpool have conceded fewer goals than Forest (one) from corners this season.
49 min: Wolves try to build from the back and José Sa very nearly plays a terrible pass to Joao Gomes, who is under heavy pressure from Gibbs-White on the edge of his own area. But Joao Gomes is strong and wily, shrugs off the Forest man and clears the ball, before telling José Sa to not be a dozy prat.
47 min: Forest take a free-kick short, a routine off the training ground, and Elanga pings a beautiful cross from wide right into the ‘corridor of uncertainty’ between defence and goalkeeper and only a brilliant defensive touch from Joao Gomes keeps the score at 0-2.
Peeeeeeeeep! We’re underway again!
Half-time reading:
Half-time: Wolves 0-2 Nottingham Forest
Ouch.
45+2 min: This has been a sickening half for Wolves, but only because of how well they have played.
45 min: Two minutes added on here. Forest have had two shots on target and scored two goals.
GOAL! Wolves 0-2 Nottingham Forest (Wood 44)
Wolves are punished as Forest hit them on the counter attack yet again! Hudson-Odoi isolates Doherty on the left wing, beats the Irishman in a footrace to the byline and cuts the ball back to Wood, who finishes simply past José Sa from the six-yard box. Wood was the only attacker in the box, but Wolves could not mark him properly.
41 min: Another wonderful cross from Pedro Lima for Wolves splitting the Forest six-yard box in two, but Strand Larsen is nowhere to be seen and the ball flies away safely. Wolves are really missing Cunha.
39 min: Hwang looks a real threat for Wolves, who are still pushing for that equaliser.
