Forest 2-1 Newcastle - Match Reaction
In front of the Sky cameras, referee Steve Martin and his officials decided to take centre stage in what can only be described as one of the most incompetent refereeing displays the professional game has ever seen.
Newcastle dominated possession in the opening 30 minutes and seemed comfortable as they looked to dissect the Forest defence. With Jonjo Shelvey in complete control of the midfield and dictating play, it was only a matter of time before Newcastle broke the deadlock – a Yoan Gouffran curling effort sent Stojković scrambling as the visitors upped the ante.
Then came the first talking point of the game: Ciaran Clark was manhandled in the box – a clear penalty – but Martin ignored the claims. Minutes later, an off-the-ball incident in the penalty box between Shelvey and Lansbury – spotted by the linesman – resulted in Shelvey receiving a straight red-card and Nottingham Forest being awarded a penalty. The duo were tussling for the ball, and as they both landed on each other, Shelvey attempted to kick out on Lansbury, who deserves an Oscar for his tremendous acting and overreactions.
Shelvey’s temperament is again being scrutinised and it is something that he has yet to eradicate from his game. Former Arsenal and Sunderland striker Nicklas Bendtner readied himself for the spot-kick, but former Forest man Karl Darlow superbly stopped the self-proclaimed superstar’s penalty.
Despite being down to 10-men, it was Newcastle who deservedly took the lead. Hayden’s imprecise cross took a couple of deflections before the man with the magic hat latched onto the loose ball; an unstoppable left-foot strike by Ritchie leaving Stojković with no chance as he watched the ball nestle into his right. With a man short, the Magpies still looked in control and were 1-0 up on the stroke of half-time – what could go wrong?
The task of leaving the City Ground on a Friday night with 3 points was made harder after Steve Martin forgot to read the new FIFA regulations on “triple jeopardy.” As of June 2016, if the opposing player fouls the last man with an attempt to play the ball, the referee cannot show the offender a straight red-card. It is only a straight red-card offence if the offender deliberately fouls the last man or deliberately handles a goal-bound effort.
Many in the ground thought it was half-time when a rogue whistle was blown in the crowd – with the Newcastle defence off-guard – a long ball was pumped towards Lansbury in the penalty box with only the keeper to beat; his first touch was poor and as soon as he felt contact from Dummett, the Oscar nominee took an exaggerated tumble. Martin pointed straight to the spot and gave Dummett his marching orders – Newcastle were down to 9-men and Forest were awarded their second penalty – Martin done exactly what was required to ruin a game. Up stepped Lansbury, but yet again, Darlow guessed the right way and denied Forest – pure jubilation from the away end as a dramatic first-half soon drew to a close.
It was always going to be a tall order to keep it at 1-0 with 9-men. In the second-half – as expected – Montanier’s men were greater in possession, yet sluggish. However, they finally breached Newcastle’s defence and Darlow. Lansbury’s cross resulted in a scrap in the 6-yard box, but it was Bendtner who managed to poke it in after Lascelles failed to clear – 1-1 and an avalanche of attack from the home side was expected, but never materialised. Despite being gifted the game by Martin, Forest failed to muster any real chances after their equaliser. It was quite unbelievable how Lansbury managed to stay on the pitch despite his intentional fouls to break-up Newcastle’s counter-attacks.
The Geordies held their own, but their resistance was broken five minutes from time when a Forest corner dropped into the six-yard box, ricocheted off Lascelles and into the net to give the home side the 3 points. After the final whistle there was a feeling of injustice, Benítez did well in his post-match interview to not heavily criticise the officials, but didn’t hold back in pointing out Lansbury, “You could see in the game we have a lot of things we can complain about. But, I was really surprised with Lansbury. The way he was acting, twice with the penalties and also with Jonjo Shelvey, but maybe he's proud of himself.”
It is now Newcastle’s third defeat in a row in all competitions. Brighton had the opportunity to go top, but after drawing 0-0 against Cardiff, Chris Hughton’s side are now one-point behind the Magpies. Next week’s game against promotion hopefuls Birmingham will be another tricky encounter. With the game being at St. James’ Park, it could be the perfect setting to get back to winning ways. As for Lansbury, Martin and his officials, I wouldn’t expect retrospective actions from The FA for either the player’s behaviour or the referee’s performance; we all know too well that this particular governing body are the definition of incompetence.
Starting XI: Darlow (GK) • Yedlin, Lascelles, Clark, Dummett • Hayden, Shelvey • Ritchie, Ayoze, Gouffran • Gayle
Special mention
Clubs from all over the world this weekend observed a minute’s silence to remember and honour the victims of the tragic Colombian plane disaster. The crash killed 71 people, including majority of the Brazilian football team, Chapecoense. Promoted to the top-tier in 2014, this was a side that was making history as they reached the Copa Sudamericana final (equivalent to the Europa League). Unfortunately, the Chapecoense fans will never get to see their idols complete their remarkable rise. It is with a heavy heart that we send our condolences to all the victims, their families and friends at this terribly difficult time.
- from the NUFC family
