Pressure increases on Ange Postecoglou as Nottingham Forest lose 2-0 to Newcastle United in EPL
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NEWCASTLE – Under-fire boss Ange Postecoglou insisted Nottingham Forest “will turn their fortunes around”, after Newcastle United midfielder Bruno Guimaraes scored a brilliant goal and won a penalty in a 2-0 English Premier League home win on Oct 5.
The size of the task facing the Australian was apparent as once again goalkeeper Matz Sels was his side’s best player as they struggled to create chances of note.
Said Postecoglou: “It is 3½ weeks since I’ve come in and things haven’t gone the way we’d have loved but it doesn’t deter me. We have a couple of weeks of work with some of the lads in the international break. We will turn the fortunes around.
“It is a struggle, it is a fight there is nothing wrong with that. I could have been sat on the couch watching you guys but I prefer to be here right in the middle of it, where I can have an effect and I believe I will.”
Sels added: “I think we’ve done well in all the games under the new manager. Football is moments and you need to take them to finish the game and we haven’t taken them these last few weeks. It is time to deliver after the international break.”
The Australian is the first Forest boss in over 100 years to fail to win in his first seven games and now faces an anxious wait to see if club owner Evangelos Marinakis decides to make another managerial change over the international break.
Newcastle had won only one of their opening six Premier League outings before the match.
After a scrappy goal-less first half, Guimaraes gave his side the lead in the 58th minute with a superb strike, picking up a pass from Dan Burn outside the box and curling it beyond the despairing dive of Sels in the Forest goal.
Newcastle boss Eddie Howe told Sky Sports: “Bruno’s goal was a moment of magic from an unbelievable player. He makes a difference more often than not.”
The visitors had given as good as they got up to that point, but they fell apart after the goal, with Sels repeatedly called into action to keep his side in the game.
With the Newcastle pressure mounting, he pulled off a superb reflex save to steer a Malick Thiaw volley away to safety, and a couple of minutes later, he stood his ground to deny Harvey Barnes.
They barely managed to threaten at the other end, with Chris Wood looking like a shadow of the striker who netted 20 Premier League goals last season, and anything they did get on target lacked the power to trouble Nick Pope in Newcastle’s goal.
Despite his heroics, there was little Sels could do when Elliot Anderson needlessly scythed down Guimaraes in the 82nd minute to concede a penalty, and German striker Nick Woltemade fired home confidently from the spot.
On Woltemade, Howe said: “I thought today was a good performance. He grew into the game. The penalty was very composed. A really good penalty from someone playing with confidence.
“Nick spoke to me about taking penalties. He is confident in that respect.”
The win lifts Newcastle to 11th spot in the standings on nine points while Postecoglou’s Forest, who are without a win in nine games in all competitions, are 17th with five points from their seven league games this season, one point above the drop zone. REUTERS, AFP
