Nottingham Forest suffered more away day misery as a second half collapse saw them thumped 3-0 by Sheffield Wednesday .
Sarah Clapson looks at five of the big talking points from the Championship clash at Hillsborough.
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1. ‘Brittle’ mentality
That was the phrase boss Martin O’Neill used as he reflected on a 45-minute capitulation from his team.
It’s difficult to argue.
The Reds had gone in at the break the better side; they had shown a huge improvement from the weekend’s flat performance at Rotherham United. For the most part they had kept a handle on the Owls and forged a few decent openings of their own.
Then it all fell apart.
As soon as Wednesday had caught them cold after the restart, Forest buckled. Instead of keeping cool heads and trying to get back into the game at 1-0, they folded.
The second half was in complete contrast to the first. They no longer looked solid at the back or threatening going forward. It was all a bit of a mess.
One goal should not have been the end of their evening, but with their torrid away form hanging over them, the visitors just could not recover.
O’Neill has a big job on his hands to try to change that.
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2. Team selection
The manager went for broke with his first XI, making wholesale changes - including between the posts.
It was do or die for the Reds’ play-off chances, and so poor had his team been at the weekend, you could hardly blame him.
O’Neill has taken flak from some fans over his line-ups, but he showed he was prepared to take risks, to gamble on Tuesday night as a final throw of the dice.
That team had potential. It looked exciting. And for the first 45 minutes it worked fairly well.
Luke Steele had been handed his big chance and pulled off a couple of very good saves. He was making a case for himself.
But he’ll have nightmares about the hosts’ opener, when he was caught horribly out of position. And he may well think he should have done better with their second.
In fairness to Steele, he has barely played this season. It’s tough to judge someone purely on the second half alone, particularly when the rest of his teammates were equally below par.
3. Byram’s back
Perhaps the lone exception to that collective display was Sam Byram. The West Ham United loanee had an impressive game throughout.
He had shown great potential back at the start of his loan, before suffering a serious knee injury in August – and he pretty much picked up where he had left off at right-back.
The defender linked up well with Matty Cash down the right flank in the early stages, making some probing forward runs.
He was comfortable on the ball and showed some good touches, while also defending well.
It would be great to see him get a few more run-outs in the remaining games. And if he continues in the same vein, Forest should certainly be trying to get him back for next term.
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4. Youthful promise
Arvin Appiah too, largely deserves to be spared from the criticism aimed his team’s way.
At just 18 and making his full debut for the club, it wasn’t up to him to pull the players together. More experienced members of the side needed to take on that responsibility.
Appiah did his job. He showed flashes of what he’s capable of and caused Wednesday a few problems in the first half. He could actually have done with seeing a bit more of the ball.
He helped out defensively, too; tracking back to help out Jack Robinson on the left.
Overall, it was a decent display from the youngster and one he will have learnt a lot from.
The winger is certainly a player with potential.
5. Out of reach?
Forest’s play-offs hopes were hanging by a thread going into the midweek clash. Defeat almost certainly means that’s their top six chances gone.
Mathematically it is still possible, but realistically, it’s the longest of long shots now.
But that shouldn’t mean the Reds can simply down tools. Far from it. How they approach these last five games will say a lot about attitudes in that squad.
The players have to keep battling. They have to try to end this campaign on a high. And plenty of them still have a lot to prove – they should be fighting for their futures.
