Leeds United      1  (Hernandez 59)

Notts Forest          1 (Grabban 77)

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This was a game that was there for the taking against a Forest side that is clearly still trying to find its own identity; in truth they offered very little apart from the usual time-wasting antics that I guess we’d better get used to seeing again this season as we continue to dominate possession.

We played very well once again, as well as we did last week at Bristol in fact, but, unlike at Ashton Gate when we converted 3 of our 4 shots on target, this week we managed just one from four – and thank goodness Pablo Hernandez can finish as well as he does! I guess we all hoped that Bamford’s goal last week, and his strong all round second half performance in Bristol, would galvanise him and have him firing on all cylinders. But he looked like a striker short of confidence again today as five opportunities came and went – three of them more than decent chances, one in the first half when clean through, then again in the second half when he lobbed wide, and then a second half volley that he somehow miscued and could only find the woodwork. We have to do better than that; this time it meant a soft goal given away at the other end cost 2 points but on another day it could be even worse.

Defensively we looked untroubled for most of the game and the performance of Ben White again took the eye as he looks way more experienced than he is; long may it continue. We did mess up at a corner resulting in Lewis Grabban err, grabbing an equaliser, but there was a case for also saying maybe referee Rob Jones was harsh not penalising the Forest man in the build up to the corner; such is life and such are Championship referees; this one was poor once again and many folk believe we were denied at least one stone wall penalty when Dallas was clearly kicked and possibly two more when Costa was pushed down.

That’s not the point though, we should be used to that, what is the point is that, just as we did too often last season, we gave away a needless goal and then failed to convert our own chances. If we cannot sort those two failings quickly, you have to begin to think we could well waste another good chance of promotion; this team is good enough in every other respect.