Head coach Steve Cooper was left with mixed emotions from Nottingham Forest’s 2-2 draw at Chelsea.
Taiwo Awoniyi’s brace ended a run of seven straight league defeats on the roads for the Reds. But there was a feeling they could have left Stamford Bridge with even more to show for their efforts.
Forest led at half-time thanks to Awoniyi’s header in the 13th minute. They then had to show great character in the second half as a quickfire Raheem Sterling double turned the game on its head.
READ MORE: How we rated the Reds against Chelsea
READ MORE: How the action unfolded at Stamford Bridge
The equaliser, just past the hour mark, clinched a valuable point for the visitors. They remain 16th in the table, three points ahead of 18th-placed Leeds United.
“I wouldn’t say it was a cracking result,” Cooper said. “There’s some disappointed guys in the dressing room, and I like that because although we worked really hard for what we got today we could have easily got a little bit more.
“There’s mixed feelings because of that and also knowing that we gave everything. We stuck to the plan and showed good resilience from going 2-1 down, when really we could have done so much better with the goals.
“We knew Chelsea were going to have the ball and we were away from home, but the game was going exactly as we wanted it to go. To turn it and go 2-1 down, then to get something out of the game is a positive.
“We’re scoring more goals in this phase than any phase of the season, although we are conceding as well. It feels like we are giving away goals more easily than how we are scoring them.
“You look at the two goals today. Great strategy, in terms of the set-piece for the second one, good technique for the cross and the header for the first one. We worked really hard, then they are good finishes from Chelsea, of course, but we think we could have done a bit better with how they got there.”
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