da dobrowin： This article is part of Football FanCast’s Off the Bench series, which places in-game managerial decisions and squad selections under FFC’s microscope.
da bet sport： As one lengthy unbeaten run came to an end, another continued its life as Nottingham Forest drew with Blackburn Rovers on Tuesday evening.
Joe Lolley was the man to rescue a point for the Reds with another one of his trademark screamers, smashing home a delightful effort from over 20 yards out.
Blackburn had taken the lead just two minutes prior to the winger’s strike as Adam Armstrong rounded off a rapid counter-attack.
Watch Nottingham Forest Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below
A win would have taken Forest to the top of the table, but Sabri Lamouchi will have to settle for a point as his side made it a ninth straight league game without defeat.
Though, the Frenchman almost put that impressive feat at risk with a critical substitution in the second half.
Snapshot
The Reds boss clearly wanted a chance at clinching all three points so with ten minutes remaining he introduced attacking midfielder Tiago Silva at the expense of Samba Sow, despite Joao Carvalho coming on less than 20 minutes earlier.
It was a bizarre move that ultimately unsettled the side and had an adverse effect rather than the one Lamouchi intended, thus almost costing his team a point, let alone the win.
Off the Bench
Sow put in an industrious showing in the heart of midfield during his 80 minutes on the pitch.
He formed a strong partnership alongside Ben Watson as Blackburn struggled to find a way to break the pair down.
The 30-year-old recorded six tackles and won 11 of his 15 duels, both on the ground and aerially, which reinforces his dominating presence in defensive midfield.
He even provided the assist for Lolley’s goal.
Forest very nearly crumbled when he was omitted from the game as Rovers piled on the pressure in the final ten minutes.
Goalkeeper Brice Samba was forced into a stunning save to deny a Derrick Williams header and Joe Worrall was needed with a couple of vital last-ditch blocks and interceptions.
The home side recorded ten shots and 77% possession in those dying stages, just going to show how Sow was the solid backbone in keeping the team’s structure throughout the game.
Several Forest fans seemingly agree as they took to Twitter to share their thoughts…