Home
+
Forest started strongly, carving out the first chance of the game when Morgan Gibbs-White struck a powerful shot straight at Bournemouth keeper Neto
Published : 21 Jan 2023, 11:44 PM
Nottingham Forest's Sam Surridge fired a late equaliser to earn his side a 1-1 draw at Bournemouth on Saturday, with the south-coast team dropping into the relegation zone despite ending a four-match losing run in the Premier League.
Surridge, who came up through Bournemouth's academy, cancelled out Jaidon Anthony's first-half opener as Gary O'Neil's team dropped into 18th place on 17 points after 20 games, while Steve Cooper's Forest remained 13th on 21 points.
"It is a point away from home in the Premier League and that should never be taken for granted. I think we did OK in the game," Cooper told Sky Sports.
Forest started strongly, carving out the first chance of the game when Morgan Gibbs-White struck a powerful shot straight at Bournemouth keeper Neto, who was able to parry it away.
The visitors created a few goalscoring opportunities early on and appeared to have opened the scoring in the 13th minute, but Ryan Yates' goal from a clever set piece was ruled out for offside.
Kieffer Moore then spurned a golden chance to put Bournemouth ahead in the 25th minute, but winger Dango Ouattara spared his blushes three minutes later, creating the opener with a bit of brilliance on his league debut.
Ouattara, signed from Lorient earlier this week, shook off a couple of defenders on the right wing before squaring the ball to Anthony, who steered a low shot past goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey to net Bournemouth's first league goal since November.
"Ouattara kept getting in down that side and it was about breaking into the box and keeping my composure," Anthony said.
"Thankfully, I did that and could put it away. Dango has only had one training session so far and I'm sure he'll be an exciting player for us."
Jordan Zemura could have made it 2-0 minutes later, but his shot from a rebound was blocked on the line by Joe Worrall.
Forest continued to threaten after the break, with Brennan Johnson and Gibbs-White both forcing Neto into saves with shots from the edge of the area.
However, they were unable to fashion any clear-cut chances until the 83rd minute, when Surridge slid in at the far post to meet a Brennan Johnson cross and score against his former team.
The draw takes Forest's unbeaten run to four league games.
Cooper was unhappy with his side's defending, saying, "I didn't like some of the moments we gave Bournemouth in the first half, including the goal.
"It came from nothing really, and a couple of free headers they had in the box. There were moments when we needed to compete more and times when it was clear, with all due respect, that Bournemouth were on edge.
"But four games unbeaten and a point away from home, coming back, we have to be happy with our work."
