Forget the error which led to Nottingham Forest’s winner on Saturday. All the focus should be on Lewis Grabban’s finish against Derby County.
That was a big moment in a big game, and he deserves credit for it.
You can point to Jayden Bogle’s mistake, but Grabban still had to provide the finish. And he did it brilliantly.
People can give you gifts like that, but you’ve still got to take them. Grabban did.
Let’s give him praise for taking the opportunity, rather than talk about Bogle’s pass which led to it.
I think everyone can see up front is a position which needs to be addressed in January. You can’t have all the pressure on Grabban to get the goals all season.
He’s taking it in his stride, but he could still do with someone else sharing the burden of finding the back of the net. You don’t have to be an expert to see that.
Grabban seems to thrive on the pressure of being the main goalscorer, though. He was excellent against Derby.
He wasn’t the only one. All over the pitch we played well.
I thought Ben Watson was outstanding.
The job he does sometimes gets overlooked because of the flair players in front of him. But it shouldn’t be.
It’s good to see him thriving.
Tiago Silva was given the Man of the Match, but Watson was the standout player for me.
I love what Silva does, but for me, he still just needs to work on his end product a little bit. That’s just nit-picking, though. He still had a very good game.
Matty Cash and Joe Worrall were excellent, too. We’ve come to expect that from them.
Brice Samba looked so confident and comfortable. When you’ve got a goalkeeper like that behind you, it does make a heck of a difference.
It was a really good local derby. It didn’t get out of hand and the atmosphere was brilliant. The fans were incredible, as always.
After beating them 3-0 in the Carabao Cup, it was difficult to know what to expect in this game in the league. It was always going to be a different game.
Both teams made changes to their line-ups from that cup match. Both wanted to put the best possible XI out there.
Overall, to come away with a win and a clean-sheet was fantastic, and it keeps us in contention in the table. You can’t ask for much more than that.
Garry Birtles was this week talking to Sarah Clapson.
